Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the clinical significance of changes in the expression of new cytokine-like 1 (CYTL1) in the serum of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: A total of 182 patients with KOA, including 84 males and 98 females aged 39-86 with an average age of 66.4 ± 9.7 and an average body mass index (BMI) of 24.9 ± 2.4 kg/m(2), were enrolled in the study. The patients were divided into three subgroups: the grade II subgroup (n = 23), grade III subgroup (n = 63), and grade IV subgroup (n = 96) based on severity, as calculated by the Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L) classification system. In addition, 152 volunteers from our health center who came in for physical examination were selected as the control group, including 70 males and 82 females aged 37-82 with an average age of 63.4 ± 9.5 and an average BMI of 24.8 ± 2.2 kg/m(2). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was adopted to detect the serum CYTL1 levels, and the correlation between CYTL1 and the severity of KOA was analyzed. RESULTS: The serum level of CYTL1 was significantly lower in the KOA group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In the KOA group, the difference in the serum level of CYTL1 was statistically significant between the subgroups and decreased significantly with an increase in the severity of the disease (F = 54.826, P < 0.001). Therefore, the serum level of CYTL1 was correlated with the severity of the disease, as determined by the K&L classification system (r = -0.613, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The serum levels of CYTL1 are strongly correlated with the severity of the disease in patients with KOA and could be a new therapeutic target for KOA.