Increased serum IL-36γlevels are associated with disease severity in myasthenia gravis patients

Abstract

Background: Interleukin 36 (IL-36), as a gradually recognized cytokine, is involved in the occurrence and evolution of autoimmune diseases. Nevertheless, the relationship between myasthenia gravis (MG) and IL-36 is rarely reported. Methods: We evaluated the serum levels of IL-36 (IL-36α, IL-36β and IL-36γ) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Further, clinical parameters in 97 MG patients and 49 healthy controls (HCs) were carefully measured. Results: Serum IL-36γlevels were significantly elevated in the MG patients compared with the HCs (p < 0.0001). Compared to those in remission, patients in the acute phase exhibited higher levels of IL-36α and IL-36γ(p = 0.038 and p = 0.011, respectively). Furthermore, patients with generalized MG (GMG) exhibited markedly higher serum IL-36γlevels than those with ocular MG (OMG) (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The serum levels of IL-36γin patients with MG were increased and positively correlated with disease severity and may thus have potential as a serological MG marker.