Comparative Analysis of VEGF expression in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with and without nephritis

Abstract

T his work aims at evaluating the level of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and studying its association with diseasing the activity and lupus nephritis(LN). The study was carried out on 40 SLE, 40 LN patients and 20 matched controls. Plasma levels of (VEGF) expression were measured using ELISA technique. Forty SLE and 40 LN patients with a mean age of (31.62±8.27) years while 20 healthy controls were (30.28±9.02) years and the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) was (9.1±5.5). In the SLE patients, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) was positive in 47.5% and the anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (Anti-ds DNA) was positive in 52.5% of the patients while in LN (ANA) was positive in 47.5% of patients. Anti-ds DNA was positive in 62.5%. VEGA expression level was significantly increased in LN with mean (470.1±369.4U/ml) compared to the SLE patients with mean (183.54±95.03) with a p value (P=0.0001). A comparative analysis between immunological and biochemical data of the SLE patients and the lupus nephritis patients show an increase in the mean levels of ESR and creatinine in lupus nephritis patients compared to the SLE patients (P<0.005). VEGF level in the SLE patients is not associated with skin ulcer, Oral ulcers, malar rash, arthritis, proteinuria and anemia (P<0.05) while in the LN patients, it statistically significant increased with skin ulcer, Oral ulcers, malar rash, arthritis and anemia (P<0.05). It could be concluded that VEGF level is higher in the lupus nephritis group compared to the SLE without nephritis and control groups.