Uveitis is one of the major manifestations of Behçet Disease, a systemic inflammatory vasculitis. Our aim is to investigate in vivo and in vitro production of interferon (IFN)-γ and nitric oxide (NO) during Behçet uveitis (BU). Moreover, we evaluated the implication of IFN-γ and interleukin (IL)-10 in the regulation of NO production in vitro. Cytokines' concentrations were measured by ELISA, and NO levels were assessed by modified Griess's method. Our results showed that patients with active disease had significant elevation of IFN-γ and NO concentrations in both plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture supernatants compared with controls (P<0.01) or to patients with inactive disease (P<0.05). Further, IFN-γ induced significantly higher production of NO in cell culture supernatants, whereas IL-10 significantly reduced it (P<0.05). In conclusion, the elevated levels of IFN-γ in vivo and in vitro in patients with BU reflect the implication of this cytokine in the disease physiopathology. These results suggest that IFN-γ, through the induction of NO synthase 2 and the production of NO, is implicated in the genesis of the inflammatory process during active BU; whereas IL-10 seems to have protective properties.

In this study, we evaluated the preventive and curative effects of ethanolic extract of Propolis (EEP) during α-Tropomyosin-induced uveitis in an experimental model using Wistar rats, through the regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) and arginase-1. In this context, rats received daily injection of EEP (100 mg/kg) for 5 days prior to immunization or for 9 days commencing 5 days post immunization with α-Tropomyosin extract, then were sacrificed at day 14. Histological examination, NOS2, arginase-1, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expression were evaluated in the retinas. Plasmatic production of nitric oxide (NO), urea, IL-4, and TNF-α was assessed. We have found that treatment with EEP substantially reduced the retinal histological damages induced by α-Tropomyosin. In the same context, a significant decrease of NO and TNF-α levels was noticed. Interestingly, EEP down-modulated NOS2 and NF-κB expression in retina. Also, an increase in urea and IL-4 levels was concomitant to an up-modulation of arginase-1 expression. Hence, it appears that EEP attenuated retinal damages through the induction of Th2 response and the inhibition of NF-κB/NOS2 pathway.

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Background:Radiographic axial spondyloarthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves the spine and the sacroiliac joints. No specific biomarker that reflects disease activity is yet available.Objectives:This study aimed to assess the relationship between fibrinogen (Fib) to albumin (ALB) ratio (FAR) and disease activity in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.Methods:We performed a cross-sectional study including 51 patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Disease activity was assessed using Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS). C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen (Normal value: 2 -4g/L), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and albumin levels (Normal value: 35 -50 g/L) were measured. The fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) was calculated. We excluded patients with infectious disease, hematological disease, and those with malabsorption syndromeStatistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.Results:The study included 43 males and 8 females with a mean age of 41.25 ± 10.97 years. The mean disease duration was 117.92 (85.4 months). The mean fibrinogen and albumin levels were 3.94 ± 1.24 g/L and 36.94 ± 5.89 g/L, respectively. Fibrinogen level was elevated in 45% patients and albumin levels was decreased in 51% cases. Mean FAR was 0.11 ± 0.44.ESR levels were elevated in 67% with a mean of 40.22 ± 34.64 mm. CRP levels were high in 61% with a mean of 28.57 ± 33.25 mg/L. Mean ASDAS was 3.32 ± 1. 27 patients had very high disease activity (ASDAS>3.5).Significant correlation was found between FAR and following parameters: ESR (r = 0.836, p< 0.001), CRP (r = 0.785, p < 0.001), and ASDAS (r = 0.463, P < 0.001).The ability of FAR to distinguish patients with very high disease activity from those without very high disease activity was excellent, with Aire under the curve of 0.819. The optimal FAR cutoff value with the highest accuracy was 0,1065 with a sensitivity of 0,792 and specificity of 0,852.Conclusion:Our study showed that fibrinogen to albumin ratio correlate with ESR, CRP and ASDAS. This finding suggests that this ratio may be a used to assess disease activity in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (1).References:[1]Liu M, Huang Y, Huang Z, Zhong Z, Deng W, Huang Z, et al. The role of fibrinogen to albumin ratio in ankylosing spondylitis: Correlation with disease activity. Clin Chim Acta. juin 2020;505:136-40.Disclosure of Interests:None declared.