Evaluation of serum thiol/disulfide homeostasis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis by a novel method

Dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis as an oxidative stress marker in ankylosing spondylitis and undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy

Background/aim

Seronegative spondyloarthropathies (SpA) are a group of chronic diseases characterized by axial inflammation, oligoarthritis, and enthesitis. Oxidative stress may contribute to a wide range of rheumatologic diseases, including SpA. This prospective case-control study was designed to compare thiol-disulfide levels as a marker of oxidative stress between SpA patients and healthy controls.

Materials and methods

A total of 144 patients diagnosed with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (USpA, n = 97) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS, n = 47) were included along with 80 healthy controls. Serum native thiol (NT), total thiol (TT), and disulfide (D) levels were measured using the fully automated Erel method. The ratios NT/TT, D/TT, and D/NT were calculated. Thiol-disulfide levels were compared between the SpA groups and the healthy controls.

Results

The NT and NT/TT ratios were found to be significantly lower in the SpA group (p < 0.001). The disulfide, D/NT, and D/TT ratios were found to be significantly higher in the SpA group (p < 0.001). In pairwise comparisons between the SpA subgroups, the NT and TT levels were lower in the USpA group than in the AS group (p = 0.021), but serum disulfide levels were higher in the USpA group than in the AS group (p = 0.004). Among the patients with SpA, the group taking antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) had lower TT measurements compared to the group taking conventional disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) (p = 0.039).

Conclusion

The thiol-disulfide balance is disturbed in favor of disulfide in SpA patients compared to healthy volunteers. Native and total thiol measurements correlate with acute phase reactants and might be used to monitor disease activity. Anti-TNF therapy might control the oxidative degenerative process better than the conventional DMARD in SpA patients.

Thiol/disulphide homeostasis in intensive care unit patients with sepsis and septic shock

Background/aim

Sepsis is a condition caused by infection followed by unregulated inflammatory response which may lead to organ dysfunction. The aim of this study is to be the first in the literature and it has been designed to show the thiol/disulphide changes in patients with sepsis and septic shock and their correlation with acute phase reactants.

Material and methods

A total of 113 patients (septic shock 53 and sepsis 60) and 60 healthy control subjects have been enrolled in this study from the period February 2018 to 2019. The patients were divided in 2 groups: nonsurvivors (74) and survivors (39). The investigation includes measurements of native thiol, total thiol, dynamic disulphide bond, oxidized thiol ratio, reduced thiol ratio and thiol oxidation reduction ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin.

Results

The findings of this study suggest that changes in thiol levels play a role in the pathogenesis of patients with sepsis and septic shock.

Conclusions

Thiol/disulphide homeostasis is impaired in patients with sepsis and septic shock. Understanding the role of thiol/ disulphide homeostasis in sepsis and septic shock may provide different therapeutic intervention strategies for patients.