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<b><i>Objective:</i></b> Interleukin (IL)-38 is a newly discovered member of the IL-1 cytokine family with a proposed anti-inflammatory profile. We studied the probable role of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of two autoimmune diseases: multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). <b><i>Subjects and Methods:</i></b> A total of 87 MS patients and 86 SSc patients (40 new and recently untreated cases and 46 treated cases) were selected for this study. Eighty-seven and 80 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were included as controls for MS and SSc, respectively. Clinical and paraclinical features of the patients were recorded at the time of sampling. Serum IL-38 was measured by ELISA. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Levels of serum IL-38 did not significantly differ between the total MS or SSc patients compared to controls. However, levels of IL-38 were significantly higher in newly diagnosed patients of MS (206.43 ± 38.97 pg/mL, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.0001) than in those previously treated (158.04 ± 39.45 pg/mL). Similarly, new/recently untreated cases of SSc patients showed increased IL-38 levels (185.19 ± 36.27 pg/mL, <i>p</i> = 0.001) compared to treated patients (166.82 ± 33.08 pg/mL). IL-38 levels in newly diagnosed MS patients (<i>p</i> = 0.007) and new/recently untreated SSc patients (<i>p</i> = 0.032) were significantly higher than those in healthy controls. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The higher serum levels of IL-38 in new or recently untreated cases of MS and SSc patients than in treated patients and healthy controls suggest the possible role of this cytokine in the development of these diseases or as part of a feedback loop to attenuate the inflammatory conditions in early stages of these diseases.

Introduction:The frequencies and functions of T stem cell memory (TSCM) subsets vary in autoimmune diseases. We evaluated the frequencies of CD4 + and CD8 + TSCM subsets as well as their PD-1 expression levels in patients with T1D. Methods: Blood samples were collected from new case (NC) (n = 15), and long-term (LT) (n = 15) groups and healthy controls (n = 15). Five subsets of T cells including TCM(CD4 + /CD8 + CCR7 + CD45RO + CD95 + ), TCM hi (CD4 + / CD8 + CCR7 + CD45RO hi CD95 + ), TEM(CD4 + /CD8 + CCR7 − CD45RO + CD95 + ), TSCM(CD4 + /CD8 + CCR7 + CD45RO − CD95 + ), and T naive (CD4 + / CD8 + CCR7 + CD45RO − CD95 − ) were detected by flow-cytometry. Results:The frequency of CD4 + TSCM was higher in NC patients than LT patients and controls (p < .0001 and p = .0086, respectively). A higher percentage of the CD8 + T naive cells was shown in NC patients as compared with LT and healthy individuals (p = .0003 and p = .0002, respectively). An increased level of PD-1 expression was observed on the CD4 + TCM and TCM hi cells in LT patients as compared with healthy controls (p = .0037 and p = .0145, respectively). Also, the higher PD-1 expression was observed on the CD8 + TCM and TCM hi in NC and LT patients as compared with controls (p = .0068 and p < .0001; p = .0012 and p = .0012, respectively). Conclusion:Considering TSCMs' capacities to generate all memory and effector T cells, our results may suggest a potential association between the increased frequencies of TSCMs and T1D progression.

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