Investigating the relationship between serum interleukin-17 levels and systemic immune-mediated disease in patients with dry eye syndrome.

Abstract

To investigate the association between dry eye syndrome (DE) and serum levels of interleukin (IL)-17 in patients with systemic immune-mediated diseases. IL-17 and IL-23 levels were measured in the sera of patients whose tear production was <5 mm on the Schirmer test. Subjects included patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjogren's syndrome (SS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and no systemic disease. Corneal/conjunctival fluorescein staining was scored and the correlation between the score and the IL-17 level was evaluated. A strong correlation existed between IL-17 level and the type of systemic disease. IL-17 was significantly elevated in patients with chronic GVHD compared to those with RA and SS. IL-17 was not detectable in patients with SLE or in those without systemic disease. IL-23 was not detected in any of the subjects. IL-17 was significantly increased in patients with high fluorescein staining scores. Our data suggest that IL-17 is involved in the pathogenesis of DE in patients with systemic immune-mediated diseases. © 2011 The Korean Ophthalmological Society