Rheumatology
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Multicenter Study
Eotaxin-3 is involved in Churg-Strauss syndrome--a serum marker closely correlating with disease activity.
Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) is characterized by excessive eosinophil accumulation in peripheral blood and affected tissues with development of granulomatous vasculitic organ damage. The contribution of eosinophil-chemotactic cytokines (eotaxin family) to eosinophilia and disease activity in CSS is unknown. Thus, we compared serum levels of the eotaxin family members in CSS patients with healthy and disease controls. ⋯ This study reveals the specific association of elevated eotaxin-3 expression with high disease activity and eosinophilia in CSS patients. Eotaxin-3 might thus be a pathogenic player, biomarker and potential therapeutic target in CSS.