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Introduction. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are commonly prescribed as immunosuppressive agents after kidney transplantation and their most common non-traumatic adverse effect is Avascular Necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) polymorphisms among kidney transplant recipients and their potential role as a risk factor for the incidence of AVN. Methods. In this study, 99 renal transplant recipients were evaluated for the correlations of GR polymorphisms including N363S (rs6195), BclI (rs41423247), ER22/23EK (rs6189/rs6190), and A3669G (rs6198) with AVN after renal transplantation. Results. Results showed that none of the renal-transplanted patients neither with GC hypersensitive polymorphisms (N363S and BclI) nor with GC-resistant polymorphisms (A3669G and ER22/23EK) developed AVN (P > .05). In addition, the medications of the renal recipients with AVN were significantly different from the nonAVN patients (P < .001). Conclusion. The study results indicate that the GR polymorphisms have no critical roles in the susceptibility to AVN after renal transplantation. However, further studies to confirm the results are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by activation of T and polyclonal B lymphocytes. IL-18 was originally identified as a factor which enhances IFN-? production and is a potent inducer of the inflammatory mediators by T cells, causing severe inflammatory disorders in SLE. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association of plasma interlukine-18 (IL-18) concentration and severity of lupus nephritis (LN) and disease activity in SLE patients. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 113 patients with SLE and 50 healthy individuals were examined. Serum level of IL-18 was measured. The severity and activity of the disease was determined by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score. The severity of kidney involvement was studied by renal biopsy, serum creatinine and 24 hours urine protein level. Results: The mean level of serum IL-18 was significantly higher in the patients than controls (577.67 ± 649.95 versus 60.48 ± 19.53 pg/ml; P < 0.001). In SLE patients with active disease level of serum IL-18 was significantly higher than chronic disease (622.77 ± 716.54 versus 182 ± 184.37 pg/ml; P < 0.001). The serum level of IL-18 was significantly higher in stage IV (P < 0.001) and V (P < 0.001) of patients with LN, than other stages. Conclusions: The current study showed that the serum IL-18 is significantly higher in the patients than controls and it significantly correlated with sever renal involvement and disease activity in SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate serum YKL-40 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to healthy subjects and to search whether there is an association between YKL-40 levels and disease characteristics in RA., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 RA patients based on the ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. In patients, clinical examination was performed and disease activity score 28 (DAS-28) measure of disease activity was assessed. Serum YKL-40 level was measured using ELISA kit., Results: The mean±SD age of patients and controls was 54.86±11.65 and 50.71±3.72 years, respectively). Serum YKL-40 level was significantly higher in RA patients (951.63±639.98 pg/mL) compared to healthy controls (444.92±150.37 pg/mL) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in serum YKL-40 level according to the activity of disease (p>0.05). There were significant positive correlations between serum YKL-40 level with disease activity (r=0.347, P=0.007) and rheumatoid factor (r=0.396, P=0.002). There were no significant correlations between serum YKL-40 level with demographic characteristics as well as biochemical measurements including serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide., Conclusion: Our study revealed higher serum YKL-40 levels in RA patients compared to healthy controls, which correlated positively with disease activity. Therefore, YKL-40 can be considered as a novel biomarker for disease activity estimation in RA., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.