PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Eiji Muroi
AU  - Fumihide Ogawa
AU  - Kazuhiro Shimizu
AU  - Kazuhiro Komura
AU  - Minoru Hasegawa
AU  - Manabu Fujimoto
AU  - Shinichi Sato
TI  - Elevation of serum lymphotactin levels in patients with systemic sclerosis.
DP  - 2008 May 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 834--838
VI  - 35
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/35/5/834.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/35/5/834.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2008 May 01; 35
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine serum concentrations of lymphotactin, a Th1 chemokine, and their clinical association in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Lymphotactin levels were examined in serum samples from patients with SSc (n = 68), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; n = 42), or dermatomyositis (DM; n = 29), and healthy controls (n = 18) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Serum lymphotactin levels were significantly elevated in SSc patients compared to patients with SLE or DM as well as controls. Serum lymphotactin levels were similar in patients with limited cutaneous SSc and diffuse cutaneous SSc (dSSc). Clinical correlation of elevated lymphotactin levels was not detected in the total group of patients with SSc, while elevation of lymphotactin levels was significantly associated with higher percentage vital capacity and percentage diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide, lower lung severity grade and serum IgG levels, and less frequent presence of short sublingual frenulum in patients with dSSc. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that elevated serum lymphotactin levels correlate with relatively milder manifestations in dSSc, especially lower severity of lung involvement, suggesting that lymphotactin may play a role in the development of dSSc.