Imbalance oxidative stress and
chemokines are considered as a universal factors involved in the development of various clinical features seen in the patients with SLE and
arthritis. To evaluate the interaction between oxidative stress and
chemokines and their relationship with disease activity in SLE and RA patients, oxidative/
anti-oxidant profiles and
chemokines were assessed.
Oxidant and
anti-oxidant enzymes were measured in the plasma and the levels of
chemokines; MCP-1/CCL2,
RANTES/CCL5, MIP-1β/CCL-4 and IP-10/CXCL-10 were evaluated in the serum by an
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A significant increase in the level of lipid peroxidation was found in SLE and RA patients and positively associated with disease activity. The activities of
anti-oxidant enzymes:
superoxide dismutase (SOD),
catalase (CAT),
glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and
anti-oxidant molecule GSH were significantly reduced in both diseases. Strong positive associations were found between MDA with
RANTES/CCL5 and MIP-1β/CCL4 than MCP-1/CCL-2 in SLE patients while a sturdy connotation was seen with MIP-1β/CCL4 and MCP-1/CCL-2 in RA patients. The
anti-oxidant molecule GSH shows a negative association with serum levels of MCP-1/CCL-2,
RANTES/CCL5 and IP-10/CXCL-10 in SLE patients and with MCP-1/CCL-2 and
RANTES/CCL5 in RA patients. A low level of GSH and high level of
RANTES/CCL5 were associated with
lupus nephritis patients. These results indicates that excessive production of ROS disturbs redox status and can modulate the expression of inflammatory
chemokines leading to inflammatory processes, exacerbating
inflammation and affecting tissue damage in
autoimmune diseases, as exemplified by their strong association with disease activity.