ABSTRACT

Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multisystemic inflammatory disease characterized with recurrent oral ulcers and accompanying other organ involvements. The etiopathogenesis of the disease is poorly understood. The dysregulation of the innate and adaptive immune systems is the cornerstone of the pathogenesis and various cytokines are found to be increased in BD. One of the most important cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of BD is interleukin-1 (IL-1) which is not only elevated in Behçet patients but also associated with the onset of the disease by single nucleotide polymorphisms. Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a novel cytokine which belongs to IL-1 cytokine super family. By binding to its receptor ST2, IL-33 acts as a proinflammatory cytokine. Serum IL-33 levels are found to be increased in many rheumatological diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis and vasculitis. There are recent studies evaluating the role of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of BD. In this paper, the role of IL-33 in BD is summarized.