Serum interleukin-8 as a serologic marker of activity in Behcet's disease

Background Immune dysregulation has been shown to be one of the major aspects of the yet unknown pathogenesis of Behcet's disease. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a major chemokine with pivotal effects concerning leukocytes and endothelial cells, has been found to be elevated in patients with Behcet's disease. Aim To evaluate the significance of elevated levels of IL-8 with respect to the activity of Behcet's disease. Methods Sixty-seven consecutive patients with Behcet's disease (37 males, 30 females; 32.5 +/- 9.3 years) were enrolled in our study. The number of active clinical manifestations at the time of serum sampling was recorded. The degree of association between disease activity and IL-8, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was assessed. Serum levels of IL-8 increased as the number of clinically involved organs increased (P < 0.05). C-reactive protein and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate showed no correlation with disease activity. Our study confirms that the IL-8 level is a more sensitive marker of disease activity than the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. It may be assumed that IL-8 plays an important role in the pathophysiology of Behcet's disease.