RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Monocyte Chemoattractant-1 as a Urinary Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Activity of Lupus Nephritis in Brazilian Patients
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 1948
OP 1954
DO 10.3899/jrheum.110201
VO 39
IS 10
A1 RENATA FERREIRA ROSA
A1 KIOKO TAKEI
A1 NAFICE C. ARAÚJO
A1 SÔNIA M.A. LODUCA
A1 JOSÉ C.M. SZAJUBOK
A1 WILIAM H. CHAHADE
YR 2012
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/39/10/1948.abstract
AB Objective. Monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1), involved in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN), has recently been indicated as a new biomarker of kidney activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Our aim was to assess urinary MCP-1 (uMCP-1) as a biomarker of renal activity in patients with SLE and to compare it to other disease activity markers, using the ELISA. Methods. Seventy-five female Brazilian patients with SLE and a control group participated in our study. Patients with SLE were distributed among 3 groups according to kidney involvement and classified according to disease activity based on clinical and laboratory measures such as urinary sediment, proteinuria, kidney function, C3, C4, anti-dsDNA, disease activity index, and renal SLE disease activity index. The serum and uMCP-1 concentrations were measured by sandwich ELISA. Results. In the A-LN group (active lupus nephritis: SLE with kidney involvement), the concentration of uMCP-1 was significantly higher than in other groups. A cutoff point was established using the results of the control group to apply this test in the detection of LN. A-LN had a higher frequency of positive results for uMCP-1 in comparison to the other groups (p < 0.001). To detect disease activity in patients with LN, a new cutoff was determined based on the results of patients with SLE with kidney involvement. Setting specificity at 90%, the sensitivity of the test was 50%. Conclusion. The high specificity makes uMCP-1 a useful test as a predictor of kidney activity in SLE, especially when associated to other measures used in clinical practice.