{
  "abstract": "Introduction Introduction: Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) may be an early sign of rheumatic connective tissue diseases, including definitive systemic sclerosis (SSc). To identify biomarkers for the development of SSc, we screened circulating levels of 31 cytokines in patients with RP undergoing nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC).Material and Methods Material and methods: For patients who came to NVC at the Division of Rheumatology, Helsinki University Hospital, from June 2013 to March 2014, medical records were reviewed 10 years later. Subjects who had at baseline or had developed SSc during follow-up (SSc+, n=8) were compared to those who had primary RP or other connective tissue disease (SSc-, n=17) and healthy controls without RP (HC, n=8). A multiplex cytokine panel (Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 27-plex Assay) and selected commercial ELISA kits [interleukin (IL)-31, IL-35, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15] were used to measure cytokine levels in plasma samples obtained at NVC and stored at -80°C. Concentrations below the analytical range are shown as < lowest concentration in analytical range. Groups were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis test, and post hoc Mann-Whitney p-values are reported.Results Results: IL-8 levels were elevated in both SSc+ (median 1.06 ng/ml, interquartile range 0.45 to 2.11 ng/ml; p=0.010) and SSc- (1.15 ng/ml, 0.80 to 1.96 ng/ml; p=0.031) compared to HC (0.25 ng/ml, 0.05 to 0.90 ng/ml). IL-10 levels were elevated in SSc- (0.60 ng/ml, <0.19 to 1.20) compared to HC (<0.19 ng/ml, <0.19 to 0.10 ng/ml; p=0.011) but not to SSc+ (<0.19 ng/ml, <0.19 to 0.39 ng/ml; p=0.074). Interferon (IFN)-γ levels were elevated in SSc- (3.52 ng/ml; 2.68 to 6.03 ng/ml) compared to SSc+ (1.24 ng/ml, 0.19 to 3.80 ng/ml; p=0.027) but not to HC (2.40 ng/ml, 1.69 to 3.24 ng/ml; p=0.080). No differences between groups were found for IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-4, IL-5, IL-7, IL-9, IL-13, IL-17, IL-31, IL-35, G-CSF, TGF-β1, TNF-α, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, GDF-15, PDGF-bb, RANTES, or eotaxin levels. Levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-12(p70), IL-15, GM-CSF, FGF basic, and VEGF were not statistically analyzed due to a large number of measurements below the analytical range.Conclusions Conclusions: RP may be associated with elevated IL-8 levels, regardless of SSc. Elevated IL-10 levels compared to HC, and elevated IFN-γ levels compared to patients with SSc, may characterize individuals with RP who do not develop SSc. The results of this preliminary study need to be confirmed in larger studies.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Inflammation Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Pinja Parmanne"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Bacterology and Immunology, Biomedicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Antti Kuuliala"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Inflammation Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Alexandra Häme"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Inflammation Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland",
        "Translational Immunology Reaserch Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Kari Eklund"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Tampere University Hospital, Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, Tampere, Finland",
        "Tampere University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Pia Isomäki"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Inflammation Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Riitta Luosujärvi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Inflammation Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Marjatta Leirisalo-Repo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Bacterology and Immunology, Biomedicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Krista Kuuliala"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P.047 Cytokine profile of individuals with raynaud’s phenomenon with and without systemic sclerosis",
  "uid": "e15a196e-870c-53a5-9da6-3b3e048e4005"
}