Role of prolactin in activity of systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects young women of reproductive age. The preponderance of SLE in women may result from stimulation of the immune system by female hormones. Prolactin is not only a lactogenic hormone but also an immunomodulator involved in lymphocyte survival activation and proliferation. The aim of this study is to estimate serum prolactin in SLE patients and to determine whether there is any correlation between serum PRL level and activity of SLE disease. Subjects and methods The present study was carried out in Dermatology and Rheumatology outpatient clinics of Zagazig University hospitals. The laboratory investigations were analyzed in Clinical Pathology Department of Zagazig University. Ninety persons of both sexes participated in this study which was carried out between May 2015 and Dec 2016 on 90 subjects divided into two groups: Group A included 45 SLE patients diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE 4 of 11 criteria for definite case definition (10) and Group B included 45 apparently healthy persons who were age and sex matched and nonrelative to patients as control, SLE patients were divided according to the severity of the disease activity into 4 groups using SLEDAI. Specific investigation Serum PRL was determined by the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay “ECLIA” by using “cobas 411” immunoassay analyzer and Elecsys prolactin II reagent kits. Normal serum PRL range was from 5–20 ng/ml. Results In the present study, serum PRL level in SLE patients ranged from (6–27 ng/ml) with a mean PRL level ± SD of (13 ± 5.6). On the other hand, serum PRL level in the control subjects ranged from (5–20 ng/ml) with a mean PRL level ± SD of (11.8 ± 4.2). The normal range of serum PRL level is 6–20 ng/ml. No statistical significant difference were found between patients and control groups as regards serum PRL level (P > 0.05). There was increase in level of serum prolactin in severe cases of SLE followed by moderate followed by mild with statistically significant difference as P value Conclusions In this study, there was no significant higher serum PRL level in SLE patients than the control group, no significant relationship between serum PRL level and SLEDAI, but a significant relation between serum PRL level and increase the severity of SLEDAI score.