ABSTRACT
objective To study the role of anti-EBV antibody in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods Peripheral blood was obtained from 55 SLE patients and 29 normal controls,and anti-EBV-VCA IgG,IgA,IgM antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay[ELISA).Totat RNA was extracted from peripheral blood of 33 SLE patients and 26 normal controls and then reverse transcribed into complementary DNA.Real-time PCR technique was used to determine gene expressions at the transcription level.Comparison of anti-EBV antibody level and interferon inducible gene expression was made between SLE Datients and normal controls by t-test.The associations between anti-EBV antibody level,lupus activitv and IFN inducible gene expression were analyzed by Spearman's correlation analysis.Results (1)The levels of anti-EBV antibodies in SLE patients were significantly increased as compared to those in the normal controls[IgG(41±6)vs(19±6)U/ml,IgA(15.4±1.8)vs(8.3±2.1)U/ml,IgM(7.8±1.0)vs(3.7±1.2)U/ml]cantly elevated in SLE Datients as compared to normal controls[IFN scores 11±13 vs 0±3](all P0.05).Conclusion Anti-EBV antibody is overproduced in SLE patients but not associated with disease activity as well as the expression level of several major types of I IFN inducible genes,suggesting that EBV infection may not be a major factor mediating the activation of IFN pathway and consequently the exacerbation of SLE.