The impact of serum Interleukin-4, Interleukin-10, Interleukin-17A, and Interleukin-22 levels on the development of sporadic ascending aortic aneurysms

Abstract

Introduction: Aortic aneurysms are chronic diseases associated with inflammatory/immunological mechanisms. Interleukins (ILs) with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities are shown to be related to the development of aortic damage. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the serum IL-4, IL-10, IL-17A, and IL-22 in patients with sporadic thoracic ascending aortic aneurysms.

Patients and Methods: The population of this prospective study consisted of all consecutive patients with sporadic ascending aortic aneurysms who underwent thoracic aortic aneurysm repair between November 2019 and September 2022. In the end, 29 patients (the patient group) and 19 healthy voluntary participants without aortic pathology (the control group) were included in the study. The study’s primary outcome was the differences in serum IL levels between the groups.

Results: The patient group was significantly older than the control group (p= 0.042). Significantly higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values were detected in the patient group (p= 0.031). The median IL10 (p= 0.001), IL-17A (p< 0.001), and IL-4 (p< 0.001) levels were significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group. There were no significant correlations between serum IL levels and the aneurysm diameter (p> 0.05). On the other hand, there were moderate correlations between IL-10 and IL-17A (r= 0.409, p= 0.038), IL-10 and IL-22 (r= 0.464, p= 0.017), and IL-17A and IL-4 (r= 0.496, p= 0.006). NLR ≥1.95 was found to be an independent risk factor for sporadic ascending aortic aneurysms [Odds Ratio (OR)= 4.53, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 1.12-21.17, p= 0.040].

Conclusion: IL-10, IL-17A, and IL-4 were significantly lower in patients with sporadic ascending aortic aneurysms larger than 55 mm. NLR was an independent risk factor for sporadic ascending aortic aneurysms. The diameter of the aneurysm was not correlated with ILs. There were positive correlations between IL-10, IL-17A, and IL-4 levels.