Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic, inflammatory, rheumatological disease affecting primarily the sacroiliac joint and
vertebral column, with an etiology that remains obscure. Cytokines are soluble proteins that have specific roles in inflammatory
response, arranging the interaction between cells of the immune system both in natural and specific immune reactions. This
study was planned to evaluate the relation between the level of cytokines and the clinical and laboratory findings of patients
with AS compared to healthy subjects. In this study, we demonstrated increased serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor
(sIL-2R), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AS compared with healthy subjects. Only
IL-1β levels were not increased in AS patients. We found a correlation between C-reactive protein and IL-6 levels and between
erythrocyte sedimentation rate and sIL-2R, IL-6 and TNF-α levels. Only the sIL-2R level was correlated with Bath AS Metrology
Index and Bath AS Functional Index. We suggest that sIL-2R, IL-6, and TNF-α may have a role in the pathogenesis of AS and
that their serum levels can be used as disease activity parameters and tools for diagnosis.
Keywords Ankylosing spondylitis - IL-1β - IL-6 - sIL-2R - TNF-α