Interleukin (IL)-34 is ligand for the colony-stimulating factor (CSF)-1 receptor. This cytokine has fundamental roles the pathogenesis of a number of autoimmune and neurologic disorders. However, its role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathies (AIDP and CIDP) has not been assessed yet. We measured serum levels of IL-34 33 CIDP cases, 16 AIDP cases, and 33 control subjects using commercial ELISA kits. IL-34 levels were significantly higher in both AIDP (44.87 ± 4.38) and CIDP (44.87 ± 4.38) groups compared with healthy subjects (30.10 ± 1.05) (P = 0.046 and P = 0.01, respectively). Differences between female subgroups were insignificant. However, levels of this cytokine were significantly higher in male subjects with CIDP compared with male controls (P = 0.042). Thus, levels of this cytokine might be regarded as biomarkers for these kinds of autoimmune disorders. Future studies are needed to verify these results and find the molecular mechanism of participation of IL-34 in the pathogenesis of AIDP/CIDP.

白细胞介素 (IL)-34 是集落刺激因子 (CSF)-1 受体的配体。这种细胞因子在许多自身免疫和神经系统疾病的发病机制中具有重要作用。然而，尚未评估其在急性和慢性炎性脱髓鞘性多发性神经病（AIDP 和 CIDP）发病机制中的作用。我们使用商业 ELISA 试剂盒测量了 33 个 CIDP 病例、16 个 AIDP 病例和 33 个对照受试者的 IL-34 血清水平。与健康受试者 (30.10 ± 1.05) 相比，AIDP (44.87 ± 4.38) 和 CIDP (44.87 ± 4.38) 组的 IL-34 水平显着更高（P  = 0.046 和P = 0.01，分别）。女性亚组之间的差异不显着。然而，与男性对照组相比，CIDP 男性受试者的这种细胞因子水平显着更高（P  = 0.042）。因此，这种细胞因子的水平可能被视为此类自身免疫性疾病的生物标志物。需要进一步的研究来验证这些结果，并寻找 IL-34 参与 AIDP/CIDP 发病机制的分子机制。