salivary levels of interleukin-17 in iranian patients with systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (ssc) is a rare immune-mediated rheumatic disease in which the skin, muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs are damaged through chronic inflammation. interleukin-17 (il-17) is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by t helper 17 (th17) cells, and plays a critical role in many inflammatory conditions. this study aims to assess the salivary il-17 levels in iranian patients with ssc. in this cross-sectional study, unstimulated saliva samples were collected from patients with ssc (n=80) and age- and sex- matched healthy individuals (n=80). the salivary levels of il-17 in all samples were measured using a commercially available enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) kit. the mean salivary levels of il-17 in patients with ssc were significantly higher than the control group (199.6±38.9 pg/ml vs. 112.7±39.4 pg/ml, p<0.0001). il-17 in the patient group had a significant positive correlation with anticentromere antibody (aca) concentration (r=0.875, p<0.0001). the salivary levels of il-17 showed no significant differences between males and females. based on the results, salivary levels of il-17 could be considered a good marker to differentiate patients with ssc from healthy subjects. considering the role of this inflammatory cytokine in tissue inflammation and its association with aca concentration, il-17 might be involved in the pathogenesis of ssc; however, further comprehensive studies are needed to confirm our findings.