Pentraxin-3 for Evaluating Subclinical Inflammation in Children with Familial Mediterranean Fever

Background Pentraxin-3 (PTX-3) is an acute phase protein that is expressed in the long pentraxin group, and is stimulated by interleukin (IL)-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). The aim of this study was to investigate the progress of serum levels of PTX-3 together with traditional acute-phase reactants in children with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) during attack and attack-free periods and to evaluate whether PTX-3 could be used to diagnose subclinic inflammation in FMF patients. Methods Forty-five patients who were diagnosed with FMF and who were receiving colchicine treatment and 45 healthy children were included in the control group. Serum levels of PTX-3 and classical acute-phase reactants were measured during the attack and attack-free periods in the patients and the controls. Patients with at least one elevated acute phase marker during the attack-free period were defined as patients with subclinical inflammation. Results PTX-3 and classical acute-phase reactants were significantly more common during the attack period than during the attack-free period in the control group. The mean serum PTX-3 levels of patients with and without subclinical inflammation were statistically similar, and both were significantly higher than the mean PTX-3 levels in healthy children (3.2 ± 0.6, 1.89 ± 0.14, and 0.87 ± 0.38, respectively; p = 0.001). Conclusion PTX-3 could be a new marker indicating subclinical inflammation.