title: Correlation of Serum Soluble Interleukin-7 Receptor and Anti-C1q Antibody in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
abstract: Background. Serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-7 receptor (sIL-7R) and anti-C1q antibody have recently been identified as unique serological markers for lupus nephritis (LN) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we evaluated the correlation of serum sIL-7R and anti-C1q in SLE patients. Methods. Sera from 134 patients with SLE and 84 healthy cohorts were tested for levels of sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies in terms of ELISA. Correlations of the sIL-7R and anti-C1q autoantibodies were evaluated. Results. The serum concentrations of sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were significantly higher in SLE patients and LN patients in comparison with healthy individuals/controls and SLE patients with non-LN, respectively. In addition, both sIL-7R and anti-C1q concentrations were found to significantly correlate with the SLE disease activity as evaluated by SLEDAI scores. Interestingly, the serum sIL-7R concentration was strongly correlated with the level of anti-C1q antibodies (r = 0.2871, p = 0.0008) but not statistically correlated with other serological markers, including the anti-dsDNA and complements C3 and C4 concentrations in SLE patients. Conclusion. Both serum sIL-7R and anti-C1q antibodies were strongly associated with disease activity and LN in SLE patients, suggesting that they may be reliable serological markers for identification of SLE patients with active diseases and LN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Shuhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750021, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: The Center of Laboratory Medicine, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Caixia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Yunxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Center of Laboratory Medicine, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China.
authors.forename: Yurong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Jijuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Shaolan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Stem Cell Research at General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu