Circulating concentrations of interleukin (IL)-17 in patients with multiple sclerosis: Evaluation of the effects of gender, treatment, disease patterns and IL-23 receptor gene polymorphisms

Seyed Ali Ghaffari; Maryam Nemati; Hossain Hajghani; Hossainali Ebrahimi; Abdolkarim Sheikhi; Abdollah Jafarzadeh

Circulating concentrations of interleukin (IL)-17 in patients with multiple sclerosis: Evaluation of the effects of gender, treatment, disease patterns and IL-23 receptor gene polymorphisms

Iran J Neurol. 2017 Jan 5;16(1):15-25.

Authors

Seyed Ali Ghaffari^{1

2}, Maryam Nemati¹, Hossain Hajghani¹, Hossainali Ebrahimi¹, Abdolkarim Sheikhi³, Abdollah Jafarzadeh^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Neurology Research Center, Department of Neurology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
² Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Paramedicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
³ Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, Iran.
⁴ Molecular Medicine Research Center, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
⁵ Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

PMID: 28717429
PMCID: PMC5506751

Abstract

Background: Interleukin (IL)-17/IL-23 axis performs a prominent role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune disorders. This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of IL-17 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and its relationship with gender, medication, disease forms and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in IL-23R gene, including rs11209026 and rs1004819. Methods: The blood specimens were obtained from 135 healthy individuals and 135 MS patients. The patients exhibited relapsing-remitting (RRMS; n = 65), primary progressive (PPMS; n = 19), secondary progressive (SPMS; n = 35) or progressive relapsing (PRMS; n = 14) MS. The DNA was analyzed for SNPs using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and IL-17 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: We have observed elevated serum IL-17 concentrations in MS patients compared with healthy individuals (P < 0.001). The men with MS had higher IL-17 concentrations than women patients (P < 0.050). Untreated patients had significantly higher IL-17 concentrations than healthy individuals and treated patients (P < 0.001 and P < 0.010, respectively). The IL-17 concentrations were significantly decreased in patients treated with interferon-β (IFN-β), methylprednisolone or both drugs as compared with untreated MS patients (P < 0.050, P < 0.020 and P < 0.050, respectively). The IL-17 concentrations were also significantly higher in patients with RRMS and PRMS compared with healthy individuals (P < 0.005 and P < 0.010, respectively). The genetic variations at SNPs rs11209026 and rs1004819 were not significantly different between healthy individuals and patients. The IL-17 concentrations were not influenced by genetic variations at investigated SNPs. Conclusion: These results indicated higher levels of IL-17 in MS patients that may be influenced by disease patterns, medication and gender. No association was observed between investigated SNPs and MS.

Keywords: Gender; Gene Polymorphisms; Interleukin-17; Interleukin-23 Receptor; Multiple Sclerosis; Treatment.