Correlations between Serum prohepcidin level disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematous

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relation between serum prohepcidin level and disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), and to discover whether it has a role in the anaemia of chronic disease occurring in RA and SLE patients. This study was carried out on 30 patients suffering from RA and 30 patients suffering from SLE. In addition, 20 healthy volunteers were recruited as controls. All patients and controls were subjected to full history taking, thorough clinical examination, locomotor system examination, assessment of the disease activity in RA patients using the Disease Activity Score-28, assessment of the disease activity in SLE patients using Systemic Lupus Erythematous Disease Activity Index, laboratory investigations, including complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatoid factor and C-reactive protein (CRP), and measurement of serum prohepcidin levels by the enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. The mean serum prohepcidin concentration was 395.2±551.4ng/ml in RA patients, whereas it was 381.5±88.07 in SLE patients and 121.4±11.1ng/ml in healthy volunteers. The prohepcidin concentration correlated with the rheumatoid factor, Creactive protein, ESR, disease duration, morning stiffness, tender joint count, swollen joint count, Larsen score, haemoglobin level and Disease Activity Score-28 in RA patients. There were positive significant correlations between the mean serum prohepcidin concentration and platelets number, haemoglobin level and ESR in SLE patients and insignificant correlations between the mean serum prohepcidin concentration and Systemic Lupus Erythematous Disease Activity Index. Prohepcidin could be considered as a useful marker for RA, but not for SLE. Prohepcidin may have a role in anaemia of chronic disease occurring in RA and SLE.