FRI0030 Higher levels of serum interleukin-20 are associated with better response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with resent-onset rheumatoid arthritis

Background Interleukin-20 (IL-20), a recently identified potent pro-inflammatory, angiogenic and chemoattractive cytokine, plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Activated monocytes and dendritic cells are the main source of IL-20, which is significantly up-regulated particularly in synovial fluid and synovial membrane, but to a lesser extent also in plasma, of patients with established RA. However, circulating IL-20 has not yet been studied at early stages of RA. Objectives Therefore, the aim of the current study was to characterize the role of serum levels of IL-20 in patients with recent-onset RA. Methods Serum levels of IL-20 were determined in 51 patients with recent-onset RA (symptom duration 0 SHS units). Although, there were no differences in the levels of serum IL-20 between patients with recent-onset RA and healthy controls, significant reduction of circulating IL-20 was observed after treatment (from 7.691±39.026 pg/ml at baseline to 0.996±15.502 pg/ml at month 3; p