Clinical effects of soluble interleukin-6 receptor detection on autoimmune rheumatic disease patients

Objective: This study aims to explore the effects of soluble interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune rheumatic disease (ARD) patients.

Methods: Sixty-eight ARD patients enrolled in our hospital recently were selected, the IL-6R levels of whom were detected by double-antibody sandwich ELISA method and compared with the IL-6 levels of normal subjects. The expressions of IL-6R in joint tissues were detected by section staining. The mechanism regarding the effects of IL-6R was postulated by administering the patients with blocking agent.

Results: The blood IL-6R level of ARD patients was 2-3 times higher than the IL-6 level of normal subjects with significant difference. The detection results of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate show that both the indicators were significantly decreased (P=0.0098 and 0.0097 respectively). IL-6R was associated with autoimmunity based on the considerable expression in tissue sections, which was also verified by the alleviated symptoms after blocking IL-6R expression.

Conclusion: Detecting soluble IL-6R is able to determine the patient’s conditions and treatment effects. Meanwhile, soluble IL-6R detection can also serve as the inflammatory responses of ARD, as well as the determination index for abnormal immune responses and generated antibodies number, which is crucial for early diagnosis.