Serum levels of interleukin-10 and its receptor in the multiple myeloma type I patients

Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of plasma cells that is associated with high morbidity rate. Inflammation is a common feature in malignancy and plays a pivotal role in the cancer pathogenesis. Interleukin-10 is a cytokine with anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was evaluation the importance of interleukin-10 and its receptor in multiple myeloma in order to find their pathogenic roles and diagnostic value.

In this case-control study, 30 multiple myeloma patients and 40 healthy subjects were enrolled. Serum IL-10 and IL-10R1 levels were determined using ELISA method. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software version 23 including descriptive analysis, mean compression and correlation tests.

The mean IL-10 levels were 50.93± 8.76 and 52.56 ± 10.47 pg/ml in control and patient groups, respectively. The serum IL-10R levels of multiple myeloma patients were significantly lower than healthy control (p=0.041) where mean serum levels were
2.51 ± 0.86 and 2.1± 0.76 pg/ml, respectively. We found a positive correlation between IL-10 and IL-10R levels (p = 0.042).

These results demonstrated that IL-10R but not IL-10 is increased in the patient's serum and they are proposed as a new diagnostic biomarker. In other words, downregulation of IL-10 receptor and attenuation of IL-10 bio-effect are associated with further inflammation in multiple myeloma type I patients.