@article {ANTONELLI1947, author = {ALESSANDRO ANTONELLI and CLODOVEO FERRI and SILVIA MARTINA FERRARI and ILARIA RUFFILLI and MICHELE COLACI and SILVIA FRASCERRA and MARIO MICCOLI and FERDINANDO FRANZONI and FABIO GALETTA and POUPAK FALLAHI}, title = {High Serum Levels of CXCL11 in Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Are Associated with Increased Circulating Levels of Interferon-γ}, volume = {38}, number = {9}, pages = {1947--1952}, year = {2011}, doi = {10.3899/jrheum.110133}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {Objective. No study has evaluated circulating chemokine C-X-C motif ligand (CXCL)11 in patients with {\textquotedblleft}mixed cryoglobulinemia and chronic hepatitis C infection{\textquotedblright} (MC+HCV). We measured CXCL11, and correlated this measurement to the clinical phenotype. Methods. Serum CXCL11, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were assayed in 97 MC+HCV patients and in 97 sex- and age-matched controls. Results. MC+HCV patients showed significantly higher mean CXCL11 serum levels than controls (254 {\textpm} 295, 68 {\textpm} 16 pg/ml, respectively; p = 0.0002; ANOVA). CXCL11 was significantly increased in 36 cryoglobulinemic patients with compared to those without active vasculitis (303 {\textpm} 208 vs 179 {\textpm} 62 pg/ml, respectively; p \< 0.001; ANOVA). IFN-γ levels were significantly higher in MC+HCV than in controls [6.1 (range 0.8{\textendash}114.5), 1.4 (range 0.7{\textendash}2.4) pg/ml, respectively; p \< 0.05; Mann-Whitney U test]. Serum TNF-α mean levels were significantly higher in MC+HCV than in controls [13.4 (range 1.8{\textendash}369), 1.1 (range 0.7{\textendash}3.2) pg/ml, respectively; p \< 0.0001; Mann-Whitney U test]. A multiple regression analysis considering CXCL11 as a dependent variable, and age, alanine aminotransferase, IFN-γ, and TNF-α as independent variables, showed in MC+HCV patients a significant association only with IFN-γ (p \< 0.0001). Conclusion. Our study demonstrates markedly high serum levels of CXCL11 in patients with MC+HCV compared to healthy controls overall in the presence of active vasculitis. A strong relationship between circulating IFN-γ and CXCL11 was shown, strongly supporting the role of a T helper 1 immune response in the pathogenesis of MC+HCV.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/38/9/1947}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/38/9/1947.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }