Decreased interleukin-20 level in patients with systemic sclerosis: are they related with angiogenesis?

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relation between angiogenesis indicators and T helper 17 cytokine group in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) which is a disease characterized by impaired angiogenesis and autoimmune response. In our study, patients with SSc are compared with patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and healthy controls. Forty SSc patients, 18 primary RP cases, and 20 healthy controls were included in our study. The demographic and clinical features of patients with SSc were recorded. The serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, interleukin (IL)-20, IL-22, and IL-23 were assessed. In the SSc group, IL-20 level was significantly lower than in both primary RP group and controls (p values <0.001). VE-cadherin level in SSc was significantly higher than in primary RP (p = 0.016). The IL-22 and IL-23 and VEGF levels of SSc, primary RP, and control groups were similar (p values >0.05). In SSc patients, IL-23 correlated negatively with VEGF (r = -0.36, p = 0.025) and positively with VE-cadherin (r = 0.55, p < 0.001). IL-20 levels in SSc patients correlated with disease duration (r = 0.32, p = 0.044). SSc patients with limited involvement had significantly higher VE-cadherin levels than SSc patients with diffuse involvement (p = 0.044). We observed that IL-20 which is an IL-10 group angiogenesis indicator was observed to be suppressed in SSc, suggesting abnormal angiogenesis.

Expression of IL-20 Receptor Subunit β Is Linked to EAE Neuropathology and CNS Neuroinflammation

“…Additionally, astrocytes are reported to secrete VEGF-A, and consequently modulate angiogenesis and endothelial cells barrier properties ( Krum and Rosenstein, 1998 ; Krum and Khaibullina, 2003 ; Croll et al, 2004 ; Argaw et al, 2006 , 2009 , 2012 ; Suidan et al, 2010 ; Chapouly et al, 2015 ). On the other hand, IL-20 promotes VEGF-mediated angiogenesis including other neuroinflammatory and autoimmune pathology: e.g., myasthenia gravis (MG) ( Hsieh et al, 2006 ; Hammer et al, 2009 ; Baird et al, 2011 ; Aydogdu et al, 2013 ; Alexandrakis et al, 2015 ; Han et al, 2016 ; Kako et al, 2016 ; Uzawa et al, 2016 ; Huang et al, 2018 ). Although MG is an autoimmune pathology that targets the peripheral nervous system and not the CNS, it is noteworthy that a research group reported a significant increase in IL-19 and IL-20 serum levels similar to other well characterized pro-inflammatory cytokines that impact CNS ( Uzawa et al, 2016 ).…”

Novel Therapeutic Strategies in the Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis

“…Less is known about the role of the other IL-10 family cytokines, such as IL-20 or IL-23, in the development of systemic sclerosis. Data from the literature suggests the reduced expression of IL-20 or dysregulated IL-23 signalling [ 107 , 110 ]. It remains an open question whether these findings are clinically important.…”

Cytokine detection and simultaneous assessment of rheumatoid factor interference in human serum and synovial fluid using high-sensitivity protein arrays on plasmonic gold chips

“…IL-20 protein levels in human biological fluids reportedly range from 60 pg/ml to 1650 ng/ml [ 10 , 14 , 15 ]. For ELISA measurements, multiple sample dilutions are required to cover this range, making reliable measurements of serum/plasma and synovial fluid (SF) IL-20 challenging.…”