Increased interferon-1α, interleukin-10 and BLyS concentrations as clinical activity biomarkers in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract Background and objective To analyse the association between interferon-1α (INF1α), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and BLyS concentrations and clinical activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients and methods A cross-sectional, observational study of 142 SLE patients and 34 healthy controls was performed, through a complete blood and urine test and review of their medical history. Serum concentration of INF1α, IL-10 and BLyS was determined by colorimetric methods. A biostatistical analysis was performed with R (3.3.2). Results 69% of our SLE patients showed at least one cytokine increased. INF1α, IL-10 and BLyS are higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls (p  Conclusions INF1α, IL-10 and BLyS are higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls. Increased IL-10 levels, regardless of whether or not there were also increased levels of BLyS and/or INF1α, was the cytokine that best fit with clinical activity in SLE measured with classic methods.