PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
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
TI  - Intrarenal and Urinary Th9 and Th22 Cytokine Gene Expression in Lupus Nephritis
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.140954
DP  - 2015 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1150--1155
VI  - 42
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/42/7/1150.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/42/7/1150.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2015 Jul 01; 42
AB  - 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.