Biomarker Candidate for Lupus

A recent study provides the basis for a new laboratory biomarker to better evaluate new therapies for lupus as well as to help doctors treat more effectively those patients at risk for serious complications. The findings were reported in the May 2005 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

A team of researchers from the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY, USA) and affiliated Weill Medical College of Cornell University (also in New York) set out to test the hypothesis that activation of a particular interferon pathway--the type 1 interferon pathway--is more common among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with the highest disease activity. Activation of this pathway is indicated by high levels of expression of interferon-inducible genes (IFIGs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The team collected blood samples from 77 SLE patients, 22 disease controls, and 28 healthy controls, matching SLE patients with both control groups with regard to sex and race, with progressively decreasing ratios of whites, African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. The SLE patients and controls were well matched for age, disease duration, and daily prednisone dose. The team also gathered relevant clinical data on the SLE patients. Then they analyzed and compared all the blood samples for levels of IFIG expression.

Overall, SLE patients scored higher than the other disease patients as well as the healthy donors for activation of the type 1 interferon pathway. Among SLE patients, the highest scoring group was strongly associated with increased disease severity, increased disease activity, and certain antibodies known to react with proteins that bind to RNA. SLE patients with high scores were also more likely to suffer from kidney disease.

"Our next challenge will be to plan clinical studies to validate the measurement of IFIG as a biomarker for active lupus,” observed Dr. Kyriakos A. Kirou, who led the research team.




Related Links:
Mary Kirkland Center at Hospital for Special Surgery