Elevated levels of interleukin-23 in sera of patients with pemphigus vulgaris.

BACKGROUND Pemphigus vulgaris, a chronic mucocutaneous disease, is the most prevalent type of pemphigus which manifests with development of bullae and erosions on skin and mucosal membranes. OBJECTIVES To investigate the potential role of IL-23 in pemphigus vulgaris. METHODS In this study, 30 patients with pemphigus vulgaris and 30 healthy individuals were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Measurement of IL-23 serum levels in blood samples was conducted by ELISA. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test for comparison of IL-23 levels between the two groups. RESULTS Mean serum levels of IL-23 in patients with pemphigus and healthy controls were 25.1 ± 4.2 and 17.9 ± 4.7 pg/ml, respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Based on the findings of this study, serum levels of IL-23 were higher in patients with pemphigus in comparison to healthy individuals with no clinical significance.