TY - JOUR T1 - Elevated Circulating TWEAK Levels in Systemic Sclerosis: Association with Lower Frequency of Pulmonary Fibrosis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.081310 AU - Koichi Yanaba AU - Ayumi Yoshizaki AU - Eiji Muroi AU - Toshihide Hara AU - Fumihide Ogawa AU - Aya Usui AU - Minoru Hasegawa AU - Manabu Fujimoto AU - Kazuhiko Takehara AU - Shinichi Sato Y1 - 2009/06/16 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/06/15/jrheum.081310.abstract N2 - Objective To determine serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its clinical associations in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods Serum TWEAK levels from 70 patients with SSc were examined by ELISA. In a retrospective longitudinal study, sera from 23 patients with SSc were analyzed (followup 0.8–7.2 yrs). Results Serum TWEAK levels were elevated in patients with SSc (n = 70) compared with healthy controls (n = 31) and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 22).Among patients with SSc, there were no differences in serum TWEAK levels between limited cutaneous SSc and diffuse cutaneous SSc. Patients with SSc who had elevated TWEAK levels less often had pulmonary fibrosis and decreased vital capacity than those with normal TWEAK levels. In the longitudinal study, SSc patients with inactive pulmonary fibrosis or without pulmonary fibrosis consistently exhibited increased TWEAK levels, while those with active pulmonary fibrosis showed decreased TWEAK levels during the followup period. Conclusion TWEAK levels were increased in patients with SSc, and associated with a lower frequency of pulmonary fibrosis in patients with SSc. TWEAK could be a protective factor against the development of pulmonary fibrosis in this disease and as such would be a possible therapeutic target. ER -