Plasma concentration of interleukin 6 (IL-6), and its relationship with circulating concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria

Decline in circulating DHEA-S concentration may be a phenomenon accompanying chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). IL-6 is a multifunctional proinflammatory cytokine which exerts a wide range of biological effects. A functional link between DHEA-S and IL-6 has been described. Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate circulating concentration of IL-6 in patients with CIU and to study its relationship with DHEA-S and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration. IL-6 plasma concentration was determined in 18 female non-atopic patients with CIU who had negative response to autologous serum skin test and 20 non-atopic healthy controls. Plasma concentration of IL-6 was statistically higher in CIU patients than in the control group, although all the values were found within the range of the normal subjects. CIU patients showed significantly lower DHEA-S concentration in serum than the controls. CRP concentration remained within the normal range and did not differ between the two groups. We did not find a significant correlation between concentration of IL-6 and DHEA-S, or CRP. It seems that the processes associated with CIU may be accompanied by slightly elevated plasma concentration of IL-6 and substantially decreased serum concentration of DHEA-S as compared with the healthy subjects. However, no association between IL-6 and DHEA-S concentration in the peripheral circulation of CIU patients was proved, suggesting that both phenomena may not be related to each other.