Serum IL-17 Levels And Intervention Effects Of ⁹⁹ Tc-MDP Combined With Methotrexate In Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of serum interleukin 17 (IL-17) levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to analysis the efficacy and influence on IL-17 in RA patients treated with the 99technetium methylenediphosphonate (⁹⁹Tc-MDP) along with methotrexate (MTX).Methods:ELISA was used to evaluate IL-17 levels in serum from 52 RA patients and 40 healthy control cohorts. A total of 40 patients with RA were equally divided into two groups randomly. The first 20 patients were given ⁹⁹Tc-MDP along with MTX treatment while the other group was given MTX treatment alone,both for 12 weeks.Results:The levels of serum IL-17 in RA patients(23.12±8.04ng/L) showed significant elevated compared with controls (6.94±2.69ng/L)(P<0.05). The serum levels of IL-17 were significantly increased in patients with active RA(25.60±7.46ng/L)compared with stable RA patients(14.85±2.34ng/L)(P<0.05). Moreover, the levels of serum IL-17 were correlated with joint tenderness index,joint swelling index,C-reactive protein(CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) in RA patients (P<0.05).After 12 weeks,time of morning stiffness, joint swelling index , CRP and ESR were significantly improved(P<0.05) and IL-17 serum levels were much more down-regulated (P<0.05)in ⁹⁹Tc-MDP combined with methotrexate treated group than MTX group. Furthermore, the ACR20,ACR70 of ⁹⁹Tc-MDP combined with MTX treated group[18(90%),8(40%)] was higher than MTX group[12(60%),2(10%)] (P<0.05).Conclusion:The levels of serum IL-17 parallels RA progression. Treatment of ⁹⁹Tc-MDP along with MTX could decrease serum IL-17 levels and improve the clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters in RA patients.