Diagnostic potential of monocyte subsets, TNF-α, and IL-6 in pediatric celiac disease: A case-control study

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, which is triggered by dietary gluten, especially in individuals with a genetic instinct. Monocytes play an important role in modifying intestinal immunity and inflammation, yet the importance of their subgroups in CD is not clear.

Methods

The case-control study was held at the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic of Minia University Hospital, including 57 CD patients and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Clinical examination, laboratory check, and history were demonstrated for all participants. The serum levels of the IL-6 and TNF-α cytokines were measured using ELISA, and most analysis was done using flow cytometry. The variable with significant differences was further evaluated for its clinical ability.

Results

Monocytes are more prevalent in CD patients than in controls. In the case group, the average level of monocyte CD14+/CD16+ and CD14–/CD16+ was much higher than in the control group of CD patients (P-value <0.001). Additionally, CD patients who tested positive for antibodies had much higher levels of certain monocyte types compared to those who tested negative (p-values of 0.003, 0.011, and 0.001, respectively). Cytokines were not balanced, as levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were much higher in CD patients than in the control group. There was a significant positive relationship (p-value <0.001) between different types of monocytes and the amounts of autoantibodies, TNF-α, and IL-6.

Conclusion

TNF-α, IL-6, and certain types of monocytes could be useful indicators for diagnosing CD, as we found important differences between the groups we studied.