Systemic lupus erythematosus frequently involves the kidneys leading to significant morbidity and mortality. It is classified according to glomerular involvement pattern but tubulointerstitial lesions are also important for progression and prognosis, as seen in other kidney glomerular diseases. One of the cell types which participate in this process are mast cells. The aim of the study was to a...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of plasmapheresis in patients with lupus nephritis-combined thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in a Chinese cohort.Clinical and therapeutic data of patients with lupus nephritis-combined TMA were collected retrospectively. A comparison between those with and without plasmapheresis was performed.Seventy patients with renal biopsy-proven TMA in lup...

OBJECTIVES To determine the predictors of failure to obtain remission after induction therapy for proliferative lupus nephritis in a group of northwestern Colombian patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective study was conducted. We included patients with systemic lupus erythematosus according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria who had nephritis confirmed by renal biopsy. R...

INTRODUCTION The clinical outcome and therapeutic response to immunosuppressive agents vary among patients with lupus nephritis of different ethnic populations. Thus, we evaluated the efficacy of two established treatment protocols for lupus nephritis (low-dose versus standard-dose cyclophosphamide) in Puerto Ricans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS A retrospective cohort of 49...

BACKGROUND Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) as well as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Despite the immune modulatory effects of G-CSF, results of G-CSF treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus are still controversial. We therefore investigated whether G-CSF can ameliorate lupus nephritis and studied the underlying mechanisms. METHO...

Recent studies demonstrate that transformation of mild lupus nephritis into end-stage disease is imposed by silencing of renal DNaseI gene expression in (NZBxNZW)F1 mice. Down-regulation of DNaseI results in reduced chromatin fragmentation, and in deposition of extracellular chromatin-IgG complexes in glomerular basement membranes in individuals that produce IgG anti-chromatin antibodies. The m...

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common multisystemic immunological disorder with protean manifestations. It commonly involves the kidney, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the kidney, it typically affects glomeruli and blood vessels with secondary involvement of tubulointer-stitial componen...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Pregnancies in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis are considered high-risk due to high rates of maternal and fetal complications. However, there has not been a formal analysis addressing the issue of maternal deaths in these women. The aim of this study was to perform a literature review of the maternal deaths in women with SLE and lupus ...

OBJECTIVE The canonical WNT pathway has been implicated as playing important roles in the pathogenesis of a variety of kidney diseases. Recently, WNT pathway activity was reported to be elevated in the renal tissue of a lupus mouse model. This study aimed to evaluate the potential role of the WNT pathway in the pathogenesis of human lupus nephritis. METHODS The expression of β-catenin was eva...

OBJECTIVES Clinical and laboratory markers in current use have limited specificity and sensitivity for predicting the development of renal disease in lupus patients. In this longitudinal study, we investigated whether urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) predicts active nephritis and renal flares in lupus patients with and without a history of biopsy-proven lupus nephritis...