Assessment of Interleukin-35 Expression in Adult Egyptian Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Patients

Abstract Background Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) is one of the common autoimmune diseases in Egypt, this disease causes a considerable drop in platelet counts rendering the patients at very high risk of bleeding. For this, ongoing research to determine an accurate diagnostic tool that would help in rapid diagnosis and also the remote prognosis of the disease are continuous. IL-35 is one of the interleukin family that now has been highlighted as a useful prognostic marker in many autoimmune diseases e.g.: SLE. In the light of its significance that was detected in other autoimmune disease, this study was to specify this interleukin in the context of the diagnosis of ITP. Method This pilot observational study was carried out on 60 patients and 20 normal controls. The patient group was categorized into newly diagnosed, relapsed and resistant groups. IL-35 was measured in serum by ELISA. Results This study demonstrated that plasma IL-35 levels were significantly lower in ITP patients than those in healthy controls and that IL-35 expression levels positively correlated with circulating platelet counts. Moreover, it was noted that a decrease in IL-35 contributes to the pathogenesis of ITP, and a statistically significant association between IL-35 levels and disease outcomes in ITP patients (P = 0.033). Specifically, patients with elevated IL-35 levels exhibited higher remission rates (28.8%) than patients experiencing only partial remission or resistance to treatment. Conclusion This finding suggested that IL-35 may play a role in predicting or potentially influencing disease prognosis.