Abstract
PURPOSE: Behçet's disease (BD) is an autoimmune chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by a versatile clinical spectrum. Growth arrest specific protein 6 (GAS6)/soluble AXL (sAXL) signaling pathway draws attention in the resolution of inflammation, and its deficiency is associated with chronic inflammatory, autoimmune diseases, as well as clearance of apoptotic cells by phagocytes - efferocytosis. In this study, it was aimed to investigate whether GAS6/sAXL, interleukin (IL)-10, nitric oxide (NO), and BCL-2 levels were associated with inflammation and efferocytosis contributes to the pathogenesis of BD. METHODS: A total of 37 Behçet patients with ocular involvement and 30 healthy control subjects were included in this study. GAS6, sAXL, IL-10, NO, and BCL-2 levels were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. RESULTS: Serum GAS6, sAXL, IL-10, NO, and BCL-2 levels were significantly lower in patients with BD compared to the controls (P < 0.005, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). In correlation analysis, research parameters decreased in patients with BD was significantly correlated with each other: GAS6-IL-10 (r = 0.585, P < 0.001), GAS6-BCL-2 (r = 0.541, P < 0.001), sAXL-BCL-2 (r = 0.696, P < 0.001), IL-10-NO (r = 0.717, P < 0.001), IL-10-BCL-2 (r = 0.759, P < 0.001), and NO-BCL-2 (r = 0.541, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, decreased serum BCL-2 level may be an indicator of increased apoptosis in these patients and decreased levels of GAS6/sAXL, IL-10, and NO may indicate insufficient clearance of apoptotic bodies released as a result of increased apoptosis in BD patients.