Clinical significance of serum CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in patients with lupus nephritis.
Lupus nephritis (LN) is an autoimmune disease as a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). LN is typically diagnosed through a combination of clinical evaluation as index scoring, and kidney biopsy as a more accurate but invasive examination. In the current study, we assessed serological markers including IFN-γ-inducible chemokines C-X-C motif chemokine ligand (CXCL)9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in diagnosing LN.
A retrospective analysis was conducted on 160 SLE patients with and without LN. Fasting venous blood was collected from the study subjects for measuring serum levels of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11. The assessment of clinical disease activity in SLE was conducted using the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI)-2000 scoring system. LN disease activity was conducted using the Austin scoring system. LN was further confirmed following kidney biopsy, and data were compared by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.
SLE patients with LN showed longer SLE duration, enhanced SLEDAI scores, lower serum anti-ds-DNA antibody levels when compared to SLE patients without LN. Specifically, these patients had significantly higher serum levels of CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11. CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 showed positive correlation with SLE disease activity in SLE patients with LN. ROC analysis of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 showed substantial enhancement of sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of LN in the patients with SLE.
Serum CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 levels may improve the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of LN in SLE patients.
Wang S
,Cui Y
《Immunity Inflammation and Disease》
Role of chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXCR3 in the serum and minor salivary gland tissues of patients with Sjögren's syndrome.
This study aimed to investigate the serum and expression levels of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9), CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXC receptor 3 (CXCR3) in minor salivary glands (MSGs) of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), and to explore their correlations with clinical parameters. Serum samples from 49 patients diagnosed with pSS, 33 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were collected for measurements of CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXCR3. Additionally, CXCL levels in the MSG tissues were measured in 41 patients who underwent MSG biopsy. Correlations between CXCL and CXCL/CXCR levels in serum/MSG tissues and clinical factors/salivary scintigraphy parameters were analyzed. Serum CXCL11 and CXCR3 showed statistically significant differences among patients with pSS and RA and HCs (serum CXCL11, pSS:RA:HC = 235.6 ± 500.1 pg/mL:90.0 ± 200.3 pg/mL:45.9 ± 53.6 pg/mL; p = 0.041, serum CXCR3, pSS:RA:HC = 3.27 ± 1.32 ng/mL:3.29 ± 1.17 ng/mL:2.00 ± 1.12 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Serum CXCL10 showed a statistically significant difference between pSS (64.5 ± 54.2 pg/mL) and HCs (18.6 ± 18.1 pg/mL, p < 0.001), while serum CXCL9 did not exhibit a significant difference among the groups. Correlation analysis of clinical factors revealed that serum CXCL10 and CXCL11 levels positively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.524, p < 0.001 and r = 0.707, p < 0.001, respectively), total protein (r = 0.375, p = 0.008 and r = 0.535, p < 0.001, respectively), globulin (r = 0.539, p < 0.001 and r = 0.639, p < 0.001, respectively), and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology SS Disease Activity Index (r = 0.305, p = 0.033 and r = 0.321, p = 0.025). Additionally, serum CXCL10 negatively correlated with the Schirmer test score (r = - 0.354, p = 0.05), while serum CXCL11 positively correlated with the biopsy focus score (r = 0.612, p = 0.02). In the MSG tissue, the percentage of infiltrating CXCL9-positive cells was highest (75.5%), followed by CXCL10 (29.1%) and CXCL11 (27.9%). In the correlation analysis, CXCL11-expressing cells were inversely related to the mean washout percentage on salivary gland scintigraphy (r = - 0.448, p = 0.007). Our study highlights distinct serum and tissue chemokine patterns in pSS, emphasizing CXCL9's potential for early diagnosis. This suggests that CXCL10 and CXCL11 are indicators of disease progression, warranting further investigation into their roles in autoimmune disorders beyond pSS.
Kim JW
,Ahn MH
,Jung JY
,Suh CH
,Han JH
,Kim HA
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The diagnostic and predictive potential of lncRNA CASC2 targeting miR-155 in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with nephritis complication.
Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious problem that results from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complications. Recent studies have highlighted that non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dysregulation is a notable feature in patients with SLE. As a result, this research was designed to investigate lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 levels as non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers in SLE patients, including those with and without nephritis, and to investigate their effectiveness in assessing disease severity and predicting LN. Our study included 60 patients with SLE who were subclassified into (30 non-LN and 30 LN groups), along with 30 control subjects. Quantification of lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 in serum samples from the Egyptian population was carried out with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The disease activity index (SLEDAI) for SLE was evaluated, and the analysis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was implemented. Increased levels of lncRNA CASC2 were observed in SLE patients compared to healthy controls, with even higher levels observed in the LN group versus the non-LN patients' group. Conversely, miR-155 was noted to be down-regulated in SLE patients relative to controls, and its levels were lower in the LN group relative to the non-LN patients' group. The elevated expression of lncRNA CASC2 and reduced expression of miR-155 were both correlated to the severity of the disease. The current study illustrated that both lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 could act as valuable non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for SLE and predicting LN among SLE patients, as well as their abilities to detect the disease severity and progression.
Mohamed NR
,El-Fattah ALA
,Shaker O
,Sayed GA
... -
《Scientific Reports》
Serum galectin-3 can help distinguish lupus nephritis from systemic lupus erythematosus and is also correlated with the degree of renal damage in lupus nephritis.
Lupus nephritis (LN) constitutes a substantial contributor to morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The monitoring of renal function in patients with LN is associated with improved prognostication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of serum galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels in differentiating LN from SLE. Moreover, we sought to ascertain whether serum galectin-3 levels can serve as a marker for the degree of renal impairment in patients with LN. In this cross-sectional study, 42 patients with LN and 12 patients with SLE without nephritis were enrolled. Furthermore, 110 healthy subjects were recruited as controls. Serum Gal-3 levels were quantified using a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. Furthermore, Gal-3 levels were analyzed in conjunction with other clinical variables. The results demonstrated that patients with LN exhibited a significantly elevated serum Gal-3 concentration (35.98 ± 20.68 ng/mL) in comparison to healthy controls (10.11 ± 2.75 ng/mL, P < .001) and patients with SLE (14.38 ± 2.26, P < .001). The area under the curve of Gal-3 in distinguishing patients with SLE from patients with LN was 0.9157. When the cutoff value was set to 18.91 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 83.33%, and the specificity was 100%. There was a tendency for serum Gal-3 levels to increase with worsening renal impairment in patients with LN. In conclusion, Gal-3 could be a valuable biomarker for distinguishing LN from SLE, providing a useful clinical reference. Elevated serum Gal-3 levels may be associated with the severity of renal impairment in patients with LN.
Wu J
,Yu X
,Liu X
,Chen J
,Zhou X
,Zhao X
,Qin Y
,Huang B
,Chen Y
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