Objective To explore the predictive value of serum levels of anti-α-actinin antibody, complements and serum protein on lupus nephritis in the diagnosis of lupus nephritis (LN) in SLE patients.
Methods A total of 212 patients with SLE were enrolled into this study, 39 of 212 patients developed LN during the follow-up. The levels of serum AαA, Anti-dsDNA and ACA were detected with ELISA. The serum complements levels and liver function indexes were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer.
Results The mean ages of the LN group and the non-LN group were (30.2±7.6) years and (38.3±8.2) years, respectively (
t=5.645,
P<0.001). The mean albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) of LN group was significantly lower than that of the non-LN group (
t=3.975,
P<0.001). The mean levels of serum AαA and complement C3 in the LN was (82.5±36.2) pg/ml and 53.2±26.3 respectively, which were both lower than those in non-LN group (
P<0.05). Cox risk ratio regression analysis showed that the age, serum AαA, AGR and complement C3 were the independent factors for the incidence of LN in SLE patients. ROC analysis showed that serum AαA had the highest diagnostic efficiency (AUC=0.845, 95%
CI: 0.776-0.915.
P<0.001), followed by AGR (AUC=0.774, 95%
CI: 0.776-0.915.
P<0.001), then was AUC of age and complement C3 level (ACU= 0.594 and 0.728, respectively).
Conclusion There is a strong correlation between low AαA and low AGR levels and LN at the diagnosis of SLE. The younger age and lower serum C3 level also increase the risk of LN. The early diagnosis and intervention of LN can be achieved by monitoring the above indexes.
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