BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1607074
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Pivotal Role of Cytokines in Autoimmune DiseasesView all 13 articles
Comparison of IgG4 with Inflammatory Cytokines (IL-1, IL-6 and TNFα) in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Provisionally accepted
- Faculty of medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Malaysia
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Background : Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by chronic joint inflammation driven by a complex interplay of autoantibodies, cytokines, and chemokines. While the role of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1(IL-1), interleukin-6(IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), in the pathogenesis of RA has been well-established, the contribution of the immunoglobulin G subclass IgG4 remains a topic of ongoing investigation. This cross sectional study aim was to compare the levels of IgG4 and these key inflammatory cytokines in Malaysian patients with RA.Methods : The study enrolled a total of 194 RA patients. All subjects were tested for their serum IgG4, IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α levels. Besides, subjects were assessed for their disease activity based on DAS28, functional disability based on HAQ-DI (Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) and the severity of the radiographic joint erosions by using the Modified Sharp Score (MSS).Results: Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive association between IgG4 and IL-6 levels (r=0.348, p=0.001), but there were no significant correlations with IL-1 and TNFα levels. IgG4 levels showed a significant positive correlation with DAS28, MSS, and HAQ-DI. All 3 cytokine levels had significant relationships with the DAS28 scores, but for the MSS, only TNF-α (p=0.024) and IL-6 (p=0.016) demonstrated significant associations. None of the cytokines correlated significantly with the HAQ-DI scores.The positive correlation between IgG4 and IL-6 levels underscores the possibility for IL-6-driven pathways to influence IgG4 production. Serum IgG4 was associated with more clinical aspects of RA compared to the classical inflammatory cytokines.
Keywords: rheu matoid arthritis, Immunoglo bulin G, Disease acti vity, cytokine, Joint erosions
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 20 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sakthiswary, Shaharir, Abdul Wahab and Uma Rajeswaran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rajalingham Sakthiswary, Faculty of medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Malaysia
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