Patients and controls
Overall, 15 AS patients and 15 healthy age- and sex-matched control patients were recruited for this study from the Department of Rheumatology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine. These patients had been diagnosed in accordance with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) modified criteria of New York (1984)[22]without any prior history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, diabetes, or other autoimmune or autoinflammatory diseases. An autoanalyzer (Hitachi 747; Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) was applied to appraise erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patient blood samples, and a questionnaire was used to compute Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) scores for AS patients. This study had been allowed by the Medical Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine (2015AH-20), which was consistent with all relevant regulatory guidelines. Prior to the research, all participants were required to provide written informed consent.