Levels of Serum Inflammatory Cytokines and Their Correlations with Disease Severity in Patients with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

Abstract

Background: Inflammation is crucial in the pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Investigating the correlation between levels of serum inflammatory cytokines (SICs) and the severity of CUS is of great significance for understanding the disease mechanism and finding effective treatment strategies. Methods: This work involved a research group (Res group) of 114 patients with CSU and a control group (Ctrl group) of 100 healthy individuals. SICs including leukotriene B4 (LTB4), leukotriene C4 (LTC4), interleukin (IL) -4, IL-17, IL-31, and tumor necrosis factor-γ (TNF-γ), of patients in different groups were measured and compared. Furthermore, the correlations between each SIC and pruritus severity, duration of pruritus, urticaria activity, and quality of life (QOL) were compared among the patients in different groups. Results: The Res group exhibited higher LTB4, LTC4, IL-4, IL-17, and IL-31 but lower TNF-γ. Great differences (P < 0.05) were found in IL-4, IL-17, and IL-31 among the patients with different pruritus severity, and positive correlations were observed between IL-17 and IL-31 levels and urticaria activity in the patients (P < 0.05). Additionally, levels of IL-4 and IL-31 exhibited a positive association to QOL scores in the patients, with obvious differences (P < 0.05). Conclusion: IL-4, IL-17, and IL-31 showed the strongest correlation with the severity of CSU, which may be attributed to their involvement in immune, inflammatory, and pruritic reactions, exacerbating the disease condition.