CC-chemokine ligand 18 is a useful biomarker associated with disease activity in IgG4-related disease.

IgG4-RD, IgG4-related disease; IL-2, interleukin-2. Figure 1 Serum CC-chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) levels were elevated and correlated with disease activity in IgG4-RD. Serum CCL18 levels (A); correlation between serum CCL18 levels and disease activity (B) and allergic condition (C); correlation between serum CCL18 levels and atopic history (D); and longitudinal analysis of serum CCL18 levels after glucocorticoid treatment (E). Group-wise comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The correlation between serum CCL18 level and clinical parameters including IgG4-RD responder index; number of affected organs; levels of IgG4, sIL-2R, and IgE; and eosinophil count was analysed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Differences before and after glucocorticoid treatment were determined using the Wilcoxon rank sum test for paired samples. A two-sided p value <0.05 was considered significant. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism V.6.0 (GraphPad, La Jolla, California, USA). GC, glucocorticoid; HC, healthy controls; IgG4-RD, IgG4-related disease; sIL-2R, soluble IL-2 receptor. CC-chemokine ligand 18 is a useful biomarker associated with disease activity in IgG4related disease