title: Soluble VEGF receptor 1 promotes endothelial injury in children and adolescents with lupus nephritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endothelial cell injury plays a key role in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN) and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to identify factors involved in the process of endothelial damage in children and adolescents with LN.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the relationship between plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), its soluble receptors sVEGFR-1 and sVEGFR-2 and markers of endothelial inflammation and injury (angiopoietin-2 and thrombomodulin, respectively) in 23 children and adolescents with LN (active LN, n = 14; inactive LN, n = 9; mean age 15 years) and 20 healthy controls (HC; mean age 12 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  VEGF, sVEGFR-1, angiopoietin-2 and thrombomodulin levels were significantly higher in children and adolescents with active LN than in patients in remission or HC. In active LN, however, VEGF was inversely related to sVEGFR-1 (r = -0.802, p < 0.001), angiopoietin-2 (r = -0.684, p = 0.007) and thrombomodulin (r = -0.697, p = 0.006). There was a significant positive correlation between sVEGFR-1 and thrombomodulin (r = 0.814, p < 0.0001), but sVEGFR-2 did not significantly differ between the patient groups and did not correlate with thrombomodulin (r = 0.046, p = 0.833).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  sVEGFR-1 may play an important role in promoting endothelial damage in children and adolescents with active LN and could possibly be used to monitor disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics I, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstr 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. monika.edelbauer@i-med.ac.at
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edelbauer
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kshirsagar
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riedl
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Billing
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tönshoff
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haffner
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dötsch
authors.forename: Gottfried
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wechselberger
authors.forename: Lutz T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steichen-Gersdorf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D004727:Endothelium / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000097:blood; D018180:Thrombomodulin / Q000097:blood; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D042702:Angiopoietin-2; D015415:Biomarkers; D018180:Thrombomodulin; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C501162:FLT1 protein, human; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1