P0414URINARY HEPCIDIN AS A BIOMARKER OF NEPHRITIS IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS PATIENTS

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that is associated with poor prognosis. The current available urinary biomarkers are neither sensitive nor specific for diagnosing LN. This study was undertaken to investigate whether urinary hepcidin represents a marker of nephritis in SLE patients. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted with 3 study groups compromising 30 patients with biopsy proven LN, 30 patients with non-nephritis SLE and 20 healthy control. Spot urinary samples were collected from all participants and the levels of hepcidin in urine were measured by ELISA, 24 h urinary proteins, urinary and serum creatinine were measured. Results Urinary hepcidin was significantly higher in LN patients than in non-nephritis SLE and control (470, 258, 43.0 ng/mg creatinine respectively) (P < 0.001) as shown in figure 1. Urinary hepcidin was significantly correlated with serum creatinine (P 0.017) and 24 hours urinary proteins (P 0.003). ROC curve cut-off values of urinary hepcidin were 4.3000, Area under curve (AUC) of hepcidin was 0.553, with sensitivity (SN) of 63.3%, specificity (SP) of 60%, Positive predictive value (PPV) 70.4, negative predictive value (NPV) 52.2 in SLE patients as shown in table 1 and figure 2. Conclusion Although urinary hepcidin level was significantly higher in LN patients than in non-nephritis SLE and control, it failed to discriminate patients with LN from those without. Further studies are still needed before considering urinary hepcidin as a non-invasive diagnostic marker of LN.