TY - JOUR T1 - Intrarenal and Urinary Th9 and Th22 Cytokine Gene Expression in Lupus Nephritis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.140954 SP - jrheum.140954 AU - Cathy Choi-Wan Luk AU - Lai-Shan Tam AU - Bonnie Ching-Ha Kwan AU - Priscilla Ching-Han Wong AU - Terry King-Wing Ma AU - Kai-Ming Chow AU - Fernand Mac-Moune Lai AU - Philip Kam-Tao Li AU - Cheuk-Chun Szeto Y1 - 2015/05/15 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2015/05/11/jrheum.140954.abstract N2 - Objective We studied the urinary sediment mRNA level of Th9- and Th22-related cytokines in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods We quantified urinary mRNA levels of interleukin (IL) 9, IL-10, IL-22, and their corresponding transcription factors in 73 patients with active lupus nephritis, 13 patients with hypertensive nephrosclerosis (HTN), and 25 healthy subjects. Results There was no detectable IL-9 mRNA in all samples. Patients with proliferative lupus nephritis had significantly lower urinary IL-22 mRNA levels than those with nonproliferative nephritis (2.2 ± 5.4 vs 8.6 ± 20.0 copies, p = 0.019), and urinary IL-22 mRNA level inversely correlated with the histological activity index (r = –0.427, p < 0.0001). In contrast, patients with lupus nephritis had significantly higher urinary IL-10 mRNA levels than patients with HTN (7.8 ± 18.5 vs 1.9 ± 4.0 copies, p = 0.012), and urinary IL-10 mRNA levels correlated with its intrarenal mRNA levels (r = 0.337, p = 0.004) and SLE disease activity index (r = 0.277, p = 0.018). Urinary IL-10 mRNA level was significantly lower among patients who achieved complete remission than those with partial remission or no response (4.1 ± 6.5 vs 14.1 ± 28.0 copies, p = 0.036). Conclusion Urinary IL-22 mRNA level is decreased in patients with SLE with proliferative nephritis, while urinary IL-10 mRNA levels correlates with its intrarenal mRNA level and disease activity. Urinary IL-10 mRNA levels may also predict treatment response. These results suggest that urinary mRNA levels of IL-10 and IL-22 might be used as biomarkers for assessing disease activity and risk stratification in lupus nephritis. ER -