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A Role for TARC/CCL17, a CC Chemokine, in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
HIROSHI OKAMOTO, KYOKO KOIZUMI, HISASHI YAMANAKA, TERUNOBU SAITO, and NAOYUKI KAMATANI
ABSTRACT.
Methods. Serum and plasma levels of TARC/CCL17 and plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) and macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) in patients with SLE were determined by ELISA. Results. There were significant differences in the plasma concentrations of TARC/CCL17 between the patients with untreated SLE and treated SLE (p < 0.001), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (p < 0.001), and healthy controls (p < 0.001). In addition, the plasma levels of TARC/CCL17 correlated with the class of lupus nephritis (higher in class I or II than in class III or IV). There was close correlation between plasma levels of MDC/CCL22 and TARC/CCL17. There was no correlation between plasma levels of MCP-1/CCL2 and TARC/CCL17. Conclusion. TARC/CCL17 may be a useful serological marker and may facilitate an assessment of the degree of disease activity in SLE. The development of SLE is closely related to the elevation of plasma TARC/CCL17 levels. (J Rheumatol 2003;30:2369-73) Key Indexing Terms:
THYMUS AND ACTIVATION-REGULATED CHEMOKINE
From the Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Supported, in part, by grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. H. Okamoto, MD, PhD; K. Koizumi, MD; H. Yamanaka, MD, PhD; T. Saito, MD, PhD; N. Kamatani, MD, PhD. Address reprint requests to Dr. H. Okamoto, Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan. E-mail: hokamoto@ior.twmu.ac.jp Submitted November 1, 2002; revision accepted April 11, 2003. |