• Sang-Cheol Bae and Young Ho Lee.
• a Department of Rheumatology , Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases , Seoul , Korea.
• Postgrad Med. 2017 Jun 1; 129 (5): 531-537.

ObjectiveWe evaluated the relationship between calprotectin levels and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the correlation between plasma/serum calprotectin and RA activity.MethodsWe searched PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases and performed meta-analyses comparing plasma/serum or synovial fluid calprotectin levels in RA patients and controls, and correlation coefficients between calprotectin levels and disease activity for 28 joints (DAS28) as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) in RA patients.ResultsSixteen studies including 849 RA patients and 266 controls were available for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that calprotectin levels were significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group (SMD = 2.337, 95% CI = 1.544-3.130, p < 1.0 × 10-8). Stratification by rheumatoid factor (RF) status revealed significantly elevated calprotectin levels in the RF-positive RA group compared to that of the RF-negative RA group (SMD = 0.574, 95% CI = 0.345-0.804, p = 9.2 × 10-7). Meta-analysis of correlation coefficients identified a significant positive correlation between calprotectin levels and CRP or DAS28 (correlation coefficient for CRP = 0.566, 95% CI = 0.512-0.615, p < 1.0 × 10-8; correlation coefficient for DAS28 = 0.438, 95% CI = 0.269-0.518, p = 2.5 × 10-6). Calprotectin levels in synovial fluid were significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group (SMD = 2.891, 95% CI = 1.067-4.715, p = 0.002).ConclusionsOur meta-analysis demonstrates that circulating and synovial fluid calprotectin levels are high in patients with RA, and that circulating calprotectin levels positively correlate with RA activity.

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