Study of Serum Interleukin-33 and Soluble ST2 Levels, and HLA-B27 Typing in Iraqi Patients of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis that causes inflammation in the joints and ligaments of the spine. The current study aimed to determine the level of serum interleukin-33 (IL-33), soluble stromelysin-2 (sST2) interleukin, and HLA-B27 typing among Iraqi AS patients. The whole blood samples of the patients were collected from medical hospitals in Baghdad city. The ELISA technique was used to measure the serum levels of IL-33 and sST2, and the HLA-B27 typing was performed by sequence-specific primer PCR (SSP-PCR). The patients were divided into patients newly diagnosed with the disease and patients receiving biological treatment (etanercept) in addition to the healthy control individuals. The mean serum IL-33 levels for newly diagnosed patients, patients treated with etanercept, and healthy control individuals were (82.84 ± 3.59), (55.91 ± 2.11), (37.32 ± 1.69) respectively. The mean serum sST2 levels for newly diagnosed patients, patients treated with etanercept, and healthy control individuals were (165.62 ± 8.92), (78.82 ± 5.84), (48.01 ± 2.11) respectively. In addition, the positive results of HLA-B27 for newly diagnosed patients, patients treated with etanercept, and healthy control were n = 18 (60.0%), n = 22 (73.3%), n = 0 (0.00%), respectively. In conclusion the present research confirmed the significance of interleukin-33 (IL-33), sST2, and HLA-B27 allele as a rapid marker for diagnosis of AS also in Iraqi As patients.