Aberrant Production Of Soluble Costimulatory MoleculessCD28、sCTLA-4、sCD80and SCD86in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: To investigate the expression of serum solublecostimulatory molecules including CD80, CD86, CD28and CTLA-4inpatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their potential clinicalsignificance.Methods: The serum concentrations of soluble CD80, CD86, CD28and CTLA-4were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA group) and healthysubjects (control group).Results: The serum sCD28, sCTLA-4and sCD80concentrations ofRA group were significantly higher than those in control group (allP<0.005), but there was no significant difference in the concentration ofsCD86(P>0.05). ROC (Receiver operation characteristic) analysisdemonstrated the diagnosis value of sCD28(AUC=0.707P=0.001),sCTLA-4(AUC=0.805P<0.001) and sCD80(AUC=0.701P=0.002) inRA patients. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis showed that there was positive correlation between sCD28and sCTLA-4(r=0.552P=0.000),sCD28and sCD80(r=0.260P=0.014), sCTLA-4and sCD80(r=0.269P=0.011), respectively. Moreover, sCTLA-4concentration in RA patientscorrelated significantly with DAS28(disease activity score in28joints).Conclusions: The aberrant production of soluble T-cell costimulatorymolecules may play important role in the immunopathogenesis ofrheumatoid arthritis. Serum sCTLA concentration could potentially be asurrogate marker of RA disease activity.