title: Autoantibody profile in African-American patients with lupus nephritis.
abstract: Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the major risk factors for morbidity and overall mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Its pathogenesis is multifactorial, and a number of risk factors, including serological markers, have been identified in recent years, correlating with clinical course and disease severity. Furthermore, a distinctive autoantibody profile has recently been reported in African-American SLE women with LN. The aim of this study was to characterize the autoantibody profile in 222 African-American SLE patients, 94 with LN and 128 without. Only anti-dsDNA achieved statistical significance between the two groups (P < 0.05). Fourteen (14.9%) patients with LN and 15 (11.7%) without it exhibited positive anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-Sm, and anti-nRNP, but without anti-La/SS-B (P > 0.6). We conclude that African-American SLE patients with LN do not exhibit a specific or distinctive autoantibody profile. However, our data confirm the value of anti-dsDNA in SLE patients with LN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, USA.
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Ureña
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scopelitis
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Gharavi
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Espinoza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies