Association of Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-10 Levels with Severity of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients Attending in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Author(s): Nasrin Nahar, Raisa Enayet Badhan, Sharmeen Ahmed, Rehana Razzak Khan, Shanjida Khondakar Setu

Background: Multiple cellular and cytokine abnormalities have been identified to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during the past decades. Aim of the study was to demonstrate the serum level of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) in Bangladeshi SLE patients and to find out the association of these cytokine levels with disease severity.

Materials and Methods: According to 2019 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/ European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria, total 75 patients with SLE and 75 healthy controls fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study. Serum cytokine levels were measured by Chemiluminescence and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Disease severity was measured by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SELENA-SLEDAI) score. All statistical analysis was performed using the statistical pakage for social science (SPSS) program, 26 version. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: Among 75 SLE patients, 94.66% were female and 5.34% were male. According to SELENA-SLEDAI score, 59 patients were in mild to moderate case group and 19 patients were in severe case group. Serum level of IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly higher in SLE patients compared to controls. Mean IL-6 and IL-10 levels in severe group were significantly higher than that of mild to moderate group.

Conclusion: Serum level of IL-6 and IL-10 in patient group were positively correlated with disease severity. From the study, it can be concluded that serum level of IL-6 and IL-10 may be useful for clinical evaluation of severity of SLE in Bangladeshi population.