The role of IL-24 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine in some Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the role of interleukin-24 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine among female rheumatoid arthritis
patients, and its correlation with clinical parameters.
Method: The case-control study was conducted from April to July 2021 at the Baghdad Teaching Hospital and
Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Iraq, and comprised women aged 26-60 years in the Al-Karkh district having rheumatoid
arthritis diagnosed by a rheumatologist, and healthy controls matched for age and gender. Data was analysed using
SPSS 28.
Results: Of the 118 subjects, 76(64.4%) were patients with mean age 45.38±1.23 years, and 42(35.6%) were controls
with mean age 46.48±2.02 years. Rheumatoid factor level was highly significant among the cases
37.30±2.50mg/L compared to the controls 4.91±0.53mg/L (p Less than or Equal to 0.05), and similar was the case with anti-cyclic
citrullinated peptides 63.04±2.82U/mL versus 14.02±0.30U/mL (p Less than or Equal to 0.05). Serum interleukin-24 was considerably
elevated in patients 157.52±9.40 compared to controls 34.75±3.06 (p Less than or Equal to 0.05). Interleukin-24 had a significant positive
correlation with rheumatoid factor, and a significant negative correlation with C-reactive protein and erythrocyte
sedimentation rate (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had higher interleukin-24 serum levels than healthy controls, indicating
that interleukin-24 may be a significant marker in rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.
Keywords: Protein, Antibodies, Cytokines, Arthritis, Rheumatoid.