Evaluation of IL-12A, IL-12B, IL-23A and IL-27 mRNA expression level genes in peripheral mononuclear cells of inflammatory bowel disease patients in an Iranian population

Aim: Aim of this study was to compare the gene expression of Interleukin 12 members in two phase of IBD.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a well-known gastrointestinal disorder in the world that fluctuates between remission and flare-up phases. Each of these phases has an individual immune system response profile. Therefore, analyzing the interleukins (IL) expression status improves the diagnosis and the classification of the IBD cases.

Methods: In this a case-control study, among 400 patients whom admitted to the IBD clinic, forty nine IBD patients were included. Patients were divided into three categories based on 1) the phase of the disease, 2) the type of IBD, Ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD), and 3) the therapeutic pathways. Using the real-time PCR method, the expression levels of IL-12A, IL-12B, IL-23A, and IL-27 were examined in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and compared to the pre-described subgroups.

Results: the data showed upregulation in the expression levels of IL-12A and IL-12B in the remission phase in comparison with the flare-up. However, no significant changes were obtained from the evaluation of IL-23A and IL-27. In addition, the mRNA levels of the target genes in the subgroups of Category 2 as well as Category 3 were similar.

Conclusion: Our results showed that expression patterns of the IL-12A and IL-12B genes varied between the remission and flare-up phases for the IBD patients, and may be considered as potential biomarkers for the detection and the classification of IBD cases.