Correlation of immunoglobulin and C reactive protein levels in ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis

Serum C reactive protein (CRP), IgG, and IgA levels were measured in 22 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and in 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to study the regulation of these proteins in inflammatory disease states. In both RA and AS the mean CRP, IgG, and IgA levels were raised above normal values. Although IgA and CRP levels showed a significant positive correlation in RA (r = 0.53, p = 0.02), there was no correlation between these values in AS (r = 0.24, p = 0.29). The difference in correlation coefficients between the AS and RA groups was significant at a p = 0.05 level. In RA the raised IgA levels may be another manifestation of the acute phase response, as shown by the good correlation between IgA and CRP in that disease. In AS, however, the IgA levels, although raised, do not correlate with CRP levels, suggesting that the mechanism of increase of IgA in the two diseases is different. Gut mediated immune stimulation has been proposed as a cause of raised IgA levels in AS.