PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Anne Troldborg
AU  - Steffen Thiel
AU  - Magdalena Janina  Laska
AU  - Bent Deleuran
AU  - Jens Christian  Jensenius
AU  - Kristian Stengaard-Pedersen
TI  - Levels in Plasma of the Serine Proteases and Associated Proteins of the Lectin Pathway Are Altered in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.141163
DP  - 2015 Apr 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.141163
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2015/04/09/jrheum.141163.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2015/04/09/jrheum.141163.full
AB  - Objective To examine whether proteins of the lectin pathway of the complement system are involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. Methods Using time-resolved immunofluorometric assays, plasma levels of mannan-binding lectin (MBL)-associated serine proteases 1 (MASP-1), MASP-2, MASP-3, MBL-associated protein of 19 kDa (MAp19), and MAp44 were determined in 58 patients with SLE and 65 healthy controls (HC). Results Plasma concentrations in patients with SLE were higher than HC regarding MASP-1, MASP-3, and MAp44 (p < 0.0001, 0.0003, and 0.0013). Complement factor 3 correlated negatively and anti-dsDNA positively with levels of MAp19 (p = 0.0035, p = 0.0133). Conclusion In SLE, plasma levels of MASP and MAp are altered and associated with SLE characteristics, supporting a role in SLE pathogenesis.