Abstract
Background. Serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-7 receptor (sIL-7R) and anti-C1q antibody have recently been identified as unique serological markers for lupus nephritis (LN) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we evaluated the correlation of serum sIL-7R and anti-C1q in SLE patients. Methods. Sera from 134 patients with SLE and 84 healthy cohorts were tested for levels of sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies in terms of ELISA. Correlations of the sIL-7R and anti-C1q autoantibodies were evaluated. Results. The serum concentrations of sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were significantly higher in SLE patients and LN patients in comparison with healthy individuals/controls and SLE patients with non-LN, respectively. In addition, both sIL-7R and anti-C1q concentrations were found to significantly correlate with the SLE disease activity as evaluated by SLEDAI scores. Interestingly, the serum sIL-7R concentration was strongly correlated with the level of anti-C1q antibodies (r = 0.2871, p = 0.0008) but not statistically correlated with other serological markers, including the anti-dsDNA and complements C3 and C4 concentrations in SLE patients. Conclusion. Both serum sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were strongly associated with disease activity and LN in SLE patients, suggesting that they may be reliable serological markers for identification of SLE patients with active diseases and LN.
Highlights
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is able to affect multiple systems and major organs, among which lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most common major organ manifestations and a main cause of the morbidity and mortality of the disease [1]
Mounting evidence has revealed increased concentrations of soluble interleukin-7 receptor (sIL-7R) and anti-C1q antibodies in sera of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, which were strongly associated with the disease activity of SLE and LN [6, 26, 35]
The abundance of sIL-7R transcript of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exhibited no statistical difference between these groups (Figure 1(b)), which was in agreement with the finding reported by Badot et al [26]
Summary
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is able to affect multiple systems and major organs, among which lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most common major organ manifestations and a main cause of the morbidity and mortality of the disease [1]. In. Autoimmune Diseases this respect, anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q antibodies exhibited a stronger association with clinical features of active SLE, with the renal disease activity, than other serological antibodies, indicating an important value of measuring these autoantibodies in SLE patients [4, 6]. The serum concentrations of sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were significantly higher in SLE patients and LN patients in comparison with healthy individuals/controls and SLE patients with non-LN, respectively Both sIL-7R and anti-C1q concentrations were found to significantly correlate with the SLE disease activity as evaluated by SLEDAI scores. Both serum sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were strongly associated with disease activity and LN in SLE patients, suggesting that they may be reliable serological markers for identification of SLE patients with active diseases and LN
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