title: Clinical significance of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies in a cohort of Chinese patients with lupus nephritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical and laboratory features of patients with lupus nephritis (LN) in the presence and absence of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies (anti-GBM) and to establish whether the characteristics of the disease correlate with anti-GBM.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study of 157 hospitalised patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 91 of whom had LN. The test for anti-GBM used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clinical and laboratory data were collected and assessed in LN patients with and without anti-GBM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anti-GBM was detected in 14 (8.9%) of 157 patients with SLE. All of the 14 patients developed LN; of these, 10 reached the criteria for crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and five were diagnosed as Goodpasture's disease. Serum anti-GBM levels were correlated with the presence of both anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies (anti-dsDNA) and anti-nucleosome antibodies (anti-NuA). Significant differences in extrarenal clinical manifestations were found between anti-GBM-positive and -negative LN patients, with regard to pleuritis, pulmonary haemorrhage, sinusitis, and anaemia in particular.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LN with anti-GBM is not rare in Chinese patients. Anti-GBM, together with the additional nephritogenic potential of anti-dsDNA and anti-NuA, may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of the anti-GBM disease in LN. Therefore, in addition to routine anti-GBM assay, anti-dsDNA and anti-NuA measurements should be performed early to ensure a prompt diagnosis and immediate treatment in patients with anti-GBM-mediated disease.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: C-H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Y-C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: P-S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: G-L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D044466:Asian People; D001323:Autoantibodies; D004247:DNA / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000276:immunology; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D001323:Autoantibodies; D009707:Nucleosomes; C051951:antiglomerular basement membrane antibody; D004247:DNA