Serum CYR61 Is Associated with Disease Activity in Graves' Orbitopathy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical implications of cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61) in Graves' orbitopathy (GO).

METHODS: Sera from 52 GO patients, 23 Graves' disease (GD) patients, and 20 healthy controls, and orbital fat tissue samples from 12 of 52 GO patients and 8 control subjects were included for analysis. Concentrations of CYR61 were measured from sera with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and CYR61 mRNA expression levels were evaluated from orbital fat tissue with polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS: Serum CYR61 levels were higher in GO patients than in controls (p = 0.001). Patients with active GO showed higher CYR61 levels than those with inactive GO (p < 0.001) or GD (p = 0.004). Expression of CYR61 mRNA was 7.4-fold higher in patients with GO than in healthy controls (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: CYR61 could be an adjuvant biomarker associated with the inflammatory activity of GO.