Levels of interferon alpha (IFN α) in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and its correlation with disease activity
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1
Universidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa Biología Regional Andes, Colombia
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2
Universidad de Antioquia, Grupo de Inmunología Celular e Inmunogenética, Colombia
Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies against nuclear components. This disease can affect different organs such as skin, musculoskeletal, cardio-pulmonary, renal and Central Nervous System (CNS). Previously, it was suggested interferon-α (IFN-α) is an important pathogenic factor in SLE. IFN-regulated genes have been associated with specific clinical manifestations, including lupus nephritis, cutaneous manifestations, and the presence of anti-Ro, anti-Sm, anti-RNP, and anti-DNA autoantibodies and the evidences of disease development in patients treated with recombinant IFN-α for viral infections or malignancies Therefore, we evaluated if IFN-α levels in a Colombian cohort of SLE patients are associated with the disease activity and organ specific compromise.
Methodology: Serum samples from 119 patients classified with SLE according to the American College of Rheumatology 1982 criteria, from rheumatology section of the Hospital Universitario San Vicente Fundación were evaluated. Clinical information (SLEDAI and organ damage) and laboratory results were obtained from our data base named "Lupus Clinic". IFN-α was measured by an ELISA kit following the manufacturer's instructions.
Results: The 86% of SLE patients were young women and most of which were mestizos. The median SLEDAI was 11 with an interquartile range of 6-19. The main clinical manifestations and laboratory finding in this cohort were antinuclear antibodies (88%), serologic abnormalities (85%), anti-DNA antibodies (79%), non-erosive arthritis (66%), hematologic disease (63%), kidney disease (58%), proteinuria (55%) and lymphopenia (49%). Low percentages (8%) of neurological manifestations were observed in these SLE patients. Nine patients in the cohort (7.6%) showed levels of IFN α above 0 finding a median of 91.8 pg / ml (66.85 - 151.7). Comparison between groups with presence or absence of IFN showing significant difference in frequency of ANAs 90% vs 67% (p = 0.037), a tendency was observed in the association of presence of IFN with discoid lupus (44% vs 19% p = 0.073). The other manifestations do not differ significantly. These findings were independent of the treatment received by these patients. No correlation between SLEDAI and IFN-alpha levels was found.
Conclusions: Patients with or without the presence of IFN-α did not differ in clinical and immunological manifestations. No significant correlation between the levels of IFN-α and disease activity established by SLEDAI was observed. Previous evidence have suggested that the levels of IFN alpha may be useful as markers of activity. The finding of detectable levels in only 7.6% of our patients and the absence of correlation with the SLEDAI index, or association with any organ commitment leads us to question the usefulness of IFN alpha as a biomarker.
Our study has multiple weaknesses including sample size, not knowing a normal level of IFN alpha in this population. These weaknesses could explain the reasons for our findings contrary to previous descriptions
Acknowledgements
Programa de regionalización Biologia
Programa Joven Investigador Universidad de Antioquia
Keywords:
biomarkers,
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic,
Interferon-alpha,
SLEDAI renal score,
Antinuclear Antibodies
Conference:
IMMUNOCOLOMBIA2015 - 11th Congress of the Latin American Association of Immunology - 10o. Congreso de la Asociación Colombiana de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología, Medellin, Colombia, 13 Oct - 16 Oct, 2015.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Autoimmunity
Citation:
Orrego
A,
Ceballos
A,
León
AL,
Lujan
TP,
Ortiz
B and
Vasquez
G
(2015). Levels of interferon alpha (IFN α) in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and its correlation with disease activity.
Front. Immunol.
Conference Abstract:
IMMUNOCOLOMBIA2015 - 11th Congress of the Latin American Association of Immunology - 10o. Congreso de la Asociación Colombiana de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2015.05.00206
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Received:
11 May 2015;
Published Online:
14 Sep 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Gloria Vasquez, Universidad de Antioquia, Grupo de Inmunología Celular e Inmunogenética, Medellin, Antioquia, 050016, Colombia, glomavas@gmail.com