REAEARCH - Association of plasma B lymphocyte stimulator levels and disease activity in SLE

[Guest guest]

Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Jul 30;58(8):2453-2459.

Association of plasma B lymphocyte stimulator levels and disease

activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Petri M, Stohl W, Chatham W, McCune WJ, Chevrier M, Ryel J, Recta V,

Zhong J, Freimuth W.

s Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, land.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of plasma B lymphocyte

stimulator (BLyS) levels, immunosuppressive therapy, and other

clinical parameters with disease activity in systemic lupus

erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Two hundred forty-five SLE patients were

evaluated prospectively over a 2-year period at 4 centers. Assessments

were performed every 3-6 months. Univariate analysis was used to

determine the association among the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus

Erythematosus: National Assessment (SELENA) version of the Systemic

Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score, serum

anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA), and plasma BLyS levels. A

multivariate repeated-measures model incorporating immunosuppressive

therapy was utilized. RESULTS: Ninety-two percent of the patients were

female. Sixty-seven percent were white, 31% African American, and 2%

Asian (all of these groups may include Hispanic). Mean values at

baseline were as follows: age 41.5 years, disease duration 8.1 years,

SELENA-SLEDAI 3.3 (median 2, range 0-18), BLyS 5.57 ng/ml, IgG 1,439

mg/dl, C3 104.4 mg/dl, and C4 21.3 mg/dl; among those positive for

anti-dsDNA, the median titer was 1:40 (range 1:10-1:1,280). Univariate

analysis showed that plasma BLyS levels were associated with

anti-dsDNA titers (P = 0.0465) and SELENA-SLEDAI scores (P = 0.0002).

In multivariate analyses, a greater increase in the SELENA-SLEDAI

score from the previous visit was associated with higher BLyS levels

at the previous visit (P = 0.0042) and with a greater increase in the

BLyS level from the previous visit (P = 0.0007).

CONCLUSION: The findings of association between a greater increase in

the BLyS level from the previous visit and a greater increase in the

SELENA-SLEDAI score at the subsequent visit, and between an elevated

BLyS level at the previous visit and a greater SELENA-SLEDAI score at

the subsequent visit, demonstrate a relationship between circulating

BLyS levels and SLE disease activity. These results lend support to

the notion that BLyS is a candidate for therapeutic targeting in SLE.

PMID: 18668552

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18668552

--

Not an MD