Involvement of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis: the effect of etanercept on the serum levels of IL-33

To investigate the role of interleukin (IL)-33 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, we measured the serum levels of IL-33 in RA patients before and after the administration of etanercept. Twenty-four patients with RA were treated with etanercept. Clinical and laboratory examinations, including serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and hemoglobin (Hb); white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) counts; and the Disease Activity Score of 28 joints including CRP (DAS28-CRP), were performed at the baseline and at 3 and 6 months after the initial treatment with etanercept. The mean serum IL-33 levels had decreased significantly at 3 and 6 months after the initial treatment with etanercept. Serum IL-33 levels showed a significant correlation with the number of tender joints, CRP, DAS28-CRP, and the WBC count, and an inverse correlation with the RBC count and Hb level. These findings indicated that the decrease of serum IL-33 levels was a novel function of etanercept, shown for the first time in this study. Measurement of serum levels of IL-33 may become a useful control marker for RA treatment.