Low serum fibroblast growth factor 2 levels not accompanied by increased serum pentraxin 3 levels in patients with systemic sclerosis

There are scarce clinical data regarding serum pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Study was conducted to evaluate serum levels in our SSc cohort. Serum PTX3 and FGF2 concentrations were compared among SSc, disease control (systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)), and healthy control groups. We also examined the association of serum levels of PTX3 and FGF2 with disease manifestations. Serum PTX3 levels were similarly distributed among SSc (n = 93) and healthy groups (n = 66) (p = 1.00) while PTX3 levels were higher in SLE controls (n = 86) compared to both SSc and healthy groups. PTX3 levels were higher in limited SSc cases compared to diffuse cases (p = 0.016). Median PTX3 levels in SSc cases with lung involvement were lower compared to cases with no lung involvement (p = 0.006). Patients with SSc had significantly lower serum levels of FGF2 compared to SLE and healthy groups. Serum FGF2 concentration was undetectable in 61.3% of cases with SSc while 30.2% of SLE and only 4.5% of healthy cases had undetectable FGF2 levels (p < 0.01). Diffuse and limited SSc cases, as well as cases with and without lung involvement, had similar rates of undetectable serum FGF2 levels (p = 0.15 and p = 0.59, respectively). FGF2 levels were mostly undetectably low in patients with SSc, and serum PTX3 was lower in diffuse SSc and in cases with lung involvement compared to limited SSc and cases with no lung involvement, respectively, in our cohort.