Abstract
Purpose: The main objective of this study was to measure serum complement C3 and C4 concentrations in patients of lupus nephritis to see if these simple measurements would give useful information to the clinician managing such patients.Method: A total of 52 samples were obtained from SLE patients, 17 suffering from lupus nephritis. All patients met the revised 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE. Serum C3 and C4 concentrations were measured with single gel radioimmunodiffusion technique. Results: In lupus nephritis, C3 and C4 are generally correlated. Both C3 and C4 levels were decreased but C4 concentrations were more often and more profoundly depressed than C3 concentration. Conclusion: All patients of lupus nephritis with low C3 or C4 concentrations should have serial measurements performed and selected patients will need a full complement profile, including measurement of alternate pathway components and total hemolytic pathway. Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Auto antibodies, Lupus nephritis, C3 and C4Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 7(4) 2008: pp. 1117-1121
Highlights
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a relatively common autoimmune disorder that results in the production of an array of autoantibodies[1,2]
Immunological parameters like ANA, dsDNA were performed by an indirect ELISA technique; positive ANA was observed in 88.23% while positive dsDNA was found in 82.35% of the lupus nephritis patients
Its measurement together with that of C3 should enhance the understanding of the mechanisms involved and aid the clinical definition of lupus nephritis
Summary
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a relatively common autoimmune disorder that results in the production of an array of autoantibodies[1,2]. The association between complement deficiencies and SLE supports an important role of complement in preventing immune complex mediated tissue damage[10]. A second nonexclusive model proposes that the innate immune system, including complement, is protective against lupus by enhancing negative selection of self-reactive B cells. According to this hypothesis, innate proteins enhance the localization of lupus antigens such as dsDNA and nuclear proteins within the primary lymphoid compartment. Deficiency in innate proteins such as serum amyloid protein, DNAse I, natural IgM, C1q or C4 could lead to an escape from negative selection of selfreactive B cells and their potential activation in the periphery in the presence of cognate T cell help and lupus antigen.[15,16] We have measured C3 and C4 concentrations using commercially available immunodiffusion plates to see if these readily available, simple measurements would give useful information to the clinician managing patients with lupus nephritis
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