Association between serum thymosin beta 4 levels of rheumatoid arthritis patients and disease activity and response to therapy

作者：Song Ran; Choi Hyun Mi; Yang Hyung In; Yoo Myung Chul; Park Yong Beom; Kim Kyoung Soo^*

来源：Clinical Rheumatology, 2012, 31(8): 1253-1258.

DOI：10.1007/s10067-012-2011-7

• Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4)
• Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha blocker

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) levels are increased in the serum of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and if this increase is associated with RA disease activity and resistance to treatment. Blood samples from 40 patients with RA were collected at baseline and 6 months after starting treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha blocker. Serum levels of T beta 4 were measured by ELISA. T beta 4 levels (mean +/- standard deviation) in RA patients were significantly (approximately tenfold) higher than in healthy controls (577.4 +/- 67.92 vs. 56.61 +/- 5.72 ng/mL). Serum T beta 4 levels in patients with severe disease activity before therapy were slightly higher than in patients with moderate disease activity (662.4 +/- 491.5 vs. 462.5 +/- 305.3 ng/ml, P %26gt; 0.05). T beta 4 levels were significantly associated with disease activity according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score. The mean T beta 4 level at baseline in the DMARD treatment group was significantly lower than in the DMARD + TNF-alpha blocker treatment group. T beta 4 levels were increased in the serum of patients with RA and were positively associated with disease activity. Levels of T beta 4 may also be relevant in determining or predicting resistance to RA treatment. Further studies are necessary to determine if T beta 4 is an appropriate therapeutic target for controlling inflammation associated with RA.

• 出版日期2012-8