serum levels of interleukin-27 and interleukin-33 in patients with dermatomyositis and polymyositis compared to healthy control subjects

Background: in some autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (ra), interleukin-27 (il-27) and il-33 levels are increased. these observations suggest that il-27 and il-33 may have a role in the pathogenesis of polymyositis/dermatomyositis (pm/dm). objectives: the aim of this study was to assess il-27 and il-33 levels in pm/dm patients compared to healthy control subjects. patients and methods: twenty patients with dm and nine patients with pm were recruited in this study. twenty-nine healthy controls whose age and gender were matched with the patients were also recruited. serum il-27 and il-33 was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). results: the serum levels of il-27 in patients with dm and pm were higher than those of healthy controls. there were no significant differences in serum levels of il-33 in patients with dm and pm compared to the healthy control group. conclusions: these data indicate that il-27 might be selectively involved in the pathogenesis of dm and pm. however, il-33 does not appear to be influenced.