Alterations in <I>IL</I>-17 expression in pediatric patients with psoriatic arthritis

Introduction. Psoriatic arthritis is a common inflammatory disease affecting the joints and it is usually accompanied by plaque psoriasis. The pathogenetic link between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis well reflects the mechanistic hypotheses of disease pathogenesis. Psoriatic arthritis is characterized by chronic inflammation which results in bone erosion and bone loss, as well as new bone formation around the affected joints. The exaggerated inflammatory response leads to enthesitis with the crucial contribution of IL-17 producing T cells and entheseal resident cells, expressing IL-23R. Studying the IL-17 gene expression patterns can help choose a therapy for patients with psoriatic arthritis.Aim. To study alterations in IL-17 gene expression in immune cells of paediatric patients with psoriatic arthritis.Materials and methods. Mono nuclear cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of 45 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 20 healthy controls. The IL-17 gene expression was analysed using a real-time PCR.Results and discussion. Mononuclear cells were isolated from whole peripheral blood for subsequent analysis of IL-17 gene expression by quantitative RT-PCR. The comparative analysis of the expression levels of patients with psoriatic arthritis and healthy volunteers showed that the expression level of IL-17 gene in patients with psoriatic arthritis was 345 times higher than the expression level in healthy volunteers.Conclusion. Patients with psoriatic arthritis are characterized by a very high level of IL-17 gene expression in immune blood cells. The high IL-17 gene expression level confirms its significant role in the inflammatory process in patients with psoriatic arthritis.