Decreased serum levels of interleukin‐17, interleukin‐23, TGF‐β in pemphigus vulgaris patients and their association with disease phase

The exact pathogenesis of Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) has remained unclear, but it seems that cytokines play critical roles in this disease. This study aims to assess the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β in PV patients and compare the results to the healthy controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum levels of IL6, IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β were successfully determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 27 newly diagnosed PV, 32 patients in remission, and 29 healthy controls. RESULTS It was shown that the mean serum levels of IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β serum are significantly different among the PV patients and healthy controls (P-values: < 0.001, 0.001, and 0.003, respectively). It was found that new PV patients have lower serum levels of IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β as compared to healthy controls (P-values: <0.001, <0.001, and 0.003, respectively). Regarding IL-6, no significant difference was observed between the healthy controls and the other two groups of patients. CONCLUSION IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β are involved in the pathogenesis of PV. However, more studies are required to clarify their exact roles in the immunopathogenesis of PV. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.