Increased Serum Interleukin-23 Levels In Patients With Behcet Disease-Associated Uveitis

Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the serum interleukin (IL) levels between the patients with extraocular manifestations of Behçet disease and Behçet disease-associated uveitis. Methods: This is a prospective study involving 12 patients with extraocular manifestations of Behçet disease and 16 patients with Behçet disease-associated uveitis. The patients are involved in this study according to declaration of Helsinki. Inclusion criteria for all patients consist of a positive HLA B51 tissue typing and without receiving any immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapy for at least 6 months. The serum levels of IL-23, IL-21, IL-17,IL-10, and IL-6 were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical analysis were performed with 2-sample t-test and Mann Whitney test. Results: There were no statistically significant differences of IL-17,Il-21,IL-10 and Il-6 serum levels between patients with extraocular manifestations of Behçet disease and Behçet disease-associated uveitis.(p = 0.954 > 0.05, p = 0.147 > 0.05, p = 0.227 > 0.05, p = 0.133 > 0.05 respectively) Serum IL-23 levels of patients with Behçet disease-associated uveitis were significantly elevated as compared to the patients with extraocular manifestations of Behçet disease. (p = 0.025 < 0.05) Conclusions: Increased serum levels of IL-23 in patients with Behçet disease-associated uveitis may be related to intraocular inflammation and it may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Behçet disease-associated uveitis