Interleukin-6 and RANTES in Takayasu arteritis a guide for therapeutic decisions?

Background - In patients with Takayasu arteritis, circulating lymphocytes are activated, and histological findings indicate that cell- mediated immunity plays an important role in the pathogenetic sequence leading to vascular lesions. Methods and Results - To delineate the profile of inflammatory and chemoattractant cytokines involved in T-cell activation in Takayasu arteritis, we measured by ELISA serum levels of interleukin (IL)- 6, IL- 1β, and RANTES in 18 patients. Subsequently, we wanted to establish whether any of these molecules could be used as a marker to monitor the clinical course of the disease and to predict disease exacerbations. We found that all patients with Takayasu arteritis studied during an active phase of the disease have increased serum concentration of IL-6 compared with healthy control subjects (P