Background: Immune dysregulation has been shown to be one of the major aspects of the yet unknown pathogenesis of Behçet's disease. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a major chemokine with pivotal effects concerning leukocytes and endothelial cells, has been found to be elevated in patients with Behçet's disease.
Aim: To evaluate the significance of elevated levels of IL-8 with respect to the activity of Behçet's disease.
Methods: Sixty-seven consecutive patients with Behçet's disease (37 males, 30 females; 32.5 +/- 9.3 years) were enrolled in our study. The number of active clinical manifestations at the time of serum sampling was recorded. The degree of association between disease activity and IL-8, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was assessed.
Results: Serum levels of IL-8 increased as the number of clinically involved organs increased (P < 0.05). C-reactive protein and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate showed no correlation with disease activity.
Conclusions: Our study confirms that the IL-8 level is a more sensitive marker of disease activity than the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. It may be assumed that IL-8 plays an important role in the pathophysiology of Behçet's disease.