Estimation of Predictive Cytokine Interleukin-18 Level in Serum of Ischemic Heart Disease Patients by Using Enzyme-Linked Immune Sorbent Assay

Abstract Background: Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory marker with a challenging role in atherosclerosis. It is closely associated with atherosclerotic plaque instability and is, therefore, a good predictor of undesirable events in Acute Coronary Syndrome acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Described as an interferon-gamma-inducing factor by Th1 cells. Objectives: The present study was carried out aiming to estimate predictive cytokine IL-18 level in the serum of ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients. Materials and Methods: People diagnosed with IHD included 45 patients and 45 healthy individuals. Ages ranged from 40 to 73 years. The serum levels of IL-18 were then quantitatively assessed using the enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) technique. ELISA testing had been carried out in line with the manufacturer’s instructions (MyBioSource). Results: Regarding the sex, the entire study’s sample was male-dominant with male to female ratio of 1.7:1; cases and control groups were also male-dominant sex with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1 and 1.5:1, respectively, without significant differences ( P > 0.05), which also reflecting the matching purpose of samples collection. In respect to the immunological parameters among the study’s groups, it has been found that the mean level of IL-18 was significantly higher among the cases group (IHD) than that of the controls (1.92184 ± 0.420832 vs. 0.74107 ± 0.132552) (mol/L) with significant difference of 1.180778 ( t = 17.953, df: 88, P = 0.000). Conclusion: In conclusion, IL-18 is a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine. Males were more frequently observed than females among IHD patients. The current study showed that the serum level of IL-18 among patients had significant relation with the number of coronary artery disease. The serum level of IL-18 can be identified as a strong independent predictor of death from cardiovascular causes in patients with CAD.