Hong-Fei Yu,* Jin Xu,* Yi Fang, Lian-Chen Xiao

Department of Neurology, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Lian-Chen Xiao; Yi Fang, Department of Neurology, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, No. 136, Jingzhou Road, Xiangyang, People’s Republic of China, Email lianchenhx@163.com; 15997289836@163.com

Background: Various cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), but whether serum interleukin-32 (IL-32) level is related to disease activity in cases with NMOSD remains poorly understood. Thus, we investigated the underlying role of IL-32 in NMOSD cases.
Methods: Our observation recruited 32 cases with acute NMOSD, 36 NMOSD cases in remission, and 60 healthy individuals in this study. Serum concentrations of IL-32 were detected using ELISA. The associations among IL-32 levels and clinical characteristics were assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient and logistic regression analysis.
Results: IL-32 concentrations were strongly increased in cases with acute NMOSD [(52.06 ± 16.56) pg/mL] and NMOSD in remission [(25.78 ± 8.31) pg/mL] compared with healthy controls [(10.83 ± 6.94) pg/mL] (all p < 0.001). ROC analysis suggested that the AUC for IL-32 and the combined diagnosis of acute NMOSD was 0.811 (P = 0.026, 95% CI 0.673– 0.949), with a sensitivity of 0.800 and a specificity of 0.806. The level of IL-32 was positively correlated with EDSS scores in patients with acute NMOSD (r = 0.620, p < 0.001). EDSS score was independently associated with increased serum levels of LI-32 (B = 1.529, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Higher level of IL-32 is related to disease severity in NMOSD. Therefore, serum IL-32 may be a novel biomarker for acute NMOSD.

Keywords: IL-32, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, biomarker