Dexamethasone inhibits cytokine production in PBMC from systemic sclerosis patients.
Anderson Rodrigues de AlmeidaAndréa Tavares DantasMichelly Cristiny PereiraMarina Ferraz CordeiroRafaela Silva Guimarães GonçalvesMoacyr Jesus Barreto de Melo RêgoIvan da Rocha PittaAngela Luzia Branco Pinto DuarteMaira Galdino da Rocha PittaPublished in: Inflammopharmacology (2019)
Glucocorticoids (GC) are widely used in the treatment of SSc, although there is not much evidence to prove the benefits offered by these drugs in this disease. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a GC on cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of SSc patients. The effect of dexamethasone (DEX) was evaluated in PBMC of 21 SSc patients and 10 healthy volunteers after stimulation of cells with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28. Cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-1β were quantified in the culture supernatant by CBA or ELISA. Of the patients evaluated in this study, 8 (38%) were taking corticosteroids, and esophageal dysfunction was more frequent in these patients when compared to those who did not take corticosteroids. DEX (1.000 nM) treatment in PBMC of SSc patients stimulated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 promoted a significant reduction in IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IFN-γ, TNF, IL-1β (p < 0.001 for all), and IL-17F (p = 0.023) cytokines levels. We did not observe differences in response to in vitro treatment with DEX between groups of patients taking or not taking corticosteroids. In PBMC from healthy volunteers, we observed that DEX treatment significantly reduced IL-4, IFN-γ (p = 0.003 for both), IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, and TNF (p = 0.002 for all) cytokines. These results show that DEX treatment in PBMC of SSc patients reduced the production of important cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of the disease, suggesting a possible mechanism of action of the CG in the treatment of SSc.
Keyphrases
- end stage renal disease
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- systemic sclerosis
- prognostic factors
- peritoneal dialysis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- immune response
- low dose
- cell death
- patient reported outcomes
- high resolution
- cell proliferation
- interstitial lung disease
- mass spectrometry
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- replacement therapy
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- liquid chromatography