Treatment with anti-TNF-α antibody infliximab reduces serum IL-15 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The aim of this study was to analyze the change of serum cytokines and pentosidine levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by infliximab treatment. Twenty-three patients with RA were studied for 30 weeks on the effects of infliximab treatment. Serum levels of IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were measured with ELISA methods and pentosidine levels were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, both at baseline and at 14 and 30 weeks after the initial treatment with infliximab. In addition, the patients also underwent physical and routine blood examinations. The higher levels of serum IL-15 in RA patients before treatment with infliximab significantly decreased at 14 and 30 weeks after the initial treatment with infliximab, but serum IL-16, IL-17, GM-CSF, and pentosidine levels did not decrease. The serum IL-17 and GM-CSF levels remained to be a limited detectable level at the pre- and posttreatment with infliximab. Infliximab treatment significantly lowered the serum levels of IL-15 in patients with RA. IL-15 is one of the crucial cytokines affected by infliximab.