CCL2, CXCL8, CXCL9 and CXCL10 serum levels increase with age but are not altered by treatment with hydroxychloroquine in patients with osteoarthritis of the knees

AIM

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of morbidity and incapacity in the elderly. This study evaluates serum levels of the chemokines CCL2, CXCL8, CXCL9, and CXCL10 in 16 patients with primary OA of the knees, and investigates how treatment with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for 4 months affects these chemokine levels.

METHOD

Thirteen elderly patients received a placebo. Healthy control groups consisted of 10 elderly individuals (age > 60 years) with no clinical or radiological evidence of OA (CT-O), and 10 young adult individuals, (CT-Y group, age < 40 years).

RESULTS

The CT-Y group presented lower levels of all chemokines studied, in comparison to the other groups. HCQ treatment did not alter the serum levels of CCL2 (P = 0.80), CXCL8 (P = 0.76), CXCL9 (P = 0.95) and CXCL10 (P = 0.74) in OA patients.

CONCLUSION

Hydroxychloroquine treatment did not alter the serum levels of CCL2, CXCL8, CXCL9 or CXCL10 in patients with OA of the knees, although increased serum levels correlated with aging for all subjects, including controls.

Crotoxin from Crotalus durissus terrificus is able to down-modulate the acute intestinal inflammation in mice

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is the result of dysregulation of mucosal innate and adaptive immune responses. Factors such as genetic, microbial and environmental are involved in the development of these disorders. Accordingly, animal models that mimic human diseases are tools for the understanding the immunological processes of the IBD as well as to evaluate new therapeutic strategies. Crotoxin (CTX) is the main component of Crotalus durissus terrificus snake venom and has an immunomodulatory effect. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the modulatory effect of CTX in a murine model of colitis induced by 2,4,6- trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). The CTX was administered intraperitoneally 18 hours after the TNBS intrarectal instillation in BALB/c mice. The CTX administration resulted in decreased weight loss, disease activity index (DAI), macroscopic tissue damage, histopathological score and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity analyzed after 4 days of acute TNBS colitis. Furthermore, the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were lower in colon tissue homogenates of TNBS-mice that received the CTX when compared with untreated TNBS mice. The analysis of distinct cell populations obtained from the intestinal lamina propria showed that CTX reduced the number of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) and Th17 population; CTX decreased IL-17 secretion but did not alter the frequency of CD4+Tbet+ T cells induced by TNBS instillation in mice. In contrast, increased CD4+FoxP3+ cell population as well as secretion of TGF-β, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and lipoxin A4 (LXA4) was observed in TNBS-colitis mice treated with CTX compared with untreated TNBS-colitis mice. In conclusion, the CTX is able to modulate the intestinal acute inflammatory response induced by TNBS, resulting in the improvement of clinical status of the mice. This effect of CTX is complex and involves the suppression of the pro-inflammatory environment elicited by intrarectal instillation of TNBS due to the induction of a local anti-inflammatory profile in mice.

Anti-mycobacterial treatment reduces high plasma levels of CXC-chemokines detected in active tuberculosis by cytometric bead array

Chemokines recruit and activate leukocytes, assisting granuloma formation. Herein, we evaluated plasma chemokines in patients with active tuberculosis (ATB) and after completing treatment (TTB) and compared them to BCG-vaccinated healthy controls (HC). Levels of chemokines were measured by cytometric bead array. Levels of CXCL8, CXCL9 and CXCL10 were higher in ATB patients compared to HC, but they decreased in TTB. Levels of CCL2 and CCL5 in ATB patients were similar to those observed in HC. Thus, the high levels of CXC-chemokines detected during ATB, which can modulate the trafficking of immune cells from the periphery to the site of infection, were reversed by anti-mycobacterial treatment.