EFFECT OF HUMAN HERPES VIRUS REACTIVATION ON SYSTEMIC CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN PATIENTS WITH BEHCET’S DISEASE AND UVEITIS

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a systemic autoinflammatory-autoimmune disease (chronic systemic vasculitis) of unknown etiology, almost 70% of patients develop uveitis. BD pathogenesis is complex, human herpesviruses (HHV) play an important role among infectious trigger factors. Ability of herpesviruses to modulate cytokine production and evade host’s immune response is known.

Aim of the study was to assess the effect of Herpes simplex virus type 1, Herpes simplex virus type 2, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus on systemic levels of chemokines, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in BD with and without uveitis. Serum samples were collected from 116 BD patients chronically infected with HHV and examined in ELISA-test for markers of HHV reactivation (IgG-antibodies to immediate early HSV antigens 1, 2 and CMV, early EBV antigen). Concentration of IL-1β, IFNγ, MCP-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-18, TNFα, GMCSF, Eotaxin, GRO-α, IP-10, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, SDF-1α, RANTES detected in multiplex analysis. TGF-β1, TGF-β2 were measured in ELISA-test. Depending on presence and activity of uveitis 3 groups of patients with BD were identified: group 1 – active uveitis, group 2 – remission of uveitis, group 3 – BD without ocular manifestations. After serological study 2 subgroups were highlighted in each group: a) patients with antibody markers of reactivation of at least one HHV, b) patients chronically infected with HHV, without serological signs of reactivation. Mean level and detection rate of cytokines and chemokines in patients with active uveitis (1a, 1b) and in remission (2a, 2b) were compared with patients without eye damage (3a, 3b). Chronic HHV infection (subgroup “b”) was compared with reactivation (subgroup “a”). A significant increase of MCP-1/ CCL2, MIP-1α/CCL3, MIP-1β/CCL4, RANTES/CCL5, IP-10, SDF-1α chemokines in serum, as well as IFNγ, TGF-β1, and TGF-β2 was observed in patients with uveitis (regardless of their activity) and HHV reactivation compared to patients without uveitis. Our data indicate that systemic production of cytokines and chemokines in BD patients and uveitis could be affected by the activity of chronic herpesvirus infections, and the greatest changes are related to chemokines. 

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