CXCL10/CXCR3 axis is associated with disease activity and the development of mucocutaneous lesions in patients with Behçet’s disease

The objective of this study was to investigate CXC chemokines and its receptor in patients with Behcet’s disease (BD) and their associations with disease activity. Blood samples were collected from 109 BD patients and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Twenty-two follow-up blood samples were collected in BD patients. Serum CXC chemokines (CXCL1, CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL12, CXCL13 and CXCL16) and cell surface marker expression (CD3, CD4 and CXCR3) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were assayed. Clinical features including disease activity were evaluated at the time of blood collection. CXCR3 expression in skin and intestinal lesions from BD patients and HCs was assessed via immunohistochemistry. Serum CXCL10 levels were correlated with disease activity in terms of Behcet’s Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF) (p < 0.001). In follow-up BD patients, changes in serum CXCL10 levels tended to be correlated with those of BDCAF. The percentage of CXCR3 expression in CD3-positive cells in PBMCs was inversely correlated with serum CXCL10 levels in BD patients (p = 0.022). By immunohistochemistry, the number of CXCR3-positive mononuclear cells was higher in skin and intestinal lesions of BD patients than in those of HCs. These results suggest that the CXCL10/CXCR3 axis may contribute to the pathogenesis of BD.