The relationship between the frequency of dendritic cell subsets in peripheral blood and kidney damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the frequency of myeloid dendritic cells (mDC) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their relationship with renal injury.Methods:The frequency of peripheral mDC and pDC in 102 SLE patients and 10 healthy controls were detected by flow cytometry. The quantitative data were expressed by [ M( P25, P75)]. The measurement data of the two groups with non-normal distribution was analyzed by Mann Whitney U test. The correlation between the two groups was analyzed by Spearman rank correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Results:The frequency of pDC [14.00%(7.92%, 19.65%) vs 24.55%(19.68%, 32.90%), Z=-3.163, P<0.01] and mDC [21.25%(13.28%, 32.83%) vs 34.85%(24.58%, 41.93%), Z=-2.607, P<0.01] in the peripheral blood of 102 patients with SLE were significantly lower than those of healthy controls. The frequency of pDC [9.09%(7.31%, 17.38%) vs 24.55%(19.68%, 32.90%), Z=-3.033, P=<0.01] and mDC [9.40%(7.88%, 21.60%) vs 34.85%(24.58%, 41.93%), Z=-3.231, P<0.01] in 12 patients with newly diagnosed SLE were also significantly lower than those in healthy controls. After adjustedfor confounding factors, multivariate analysis showed that SLEDAI level was the main factor influencing the frequency of pDC ( P=0.019) and mDC ( P<0.01). In addition, pDC[8.02%(2.25%, 9.97%) vs 16.70%(11.80%, 24.60%), Z=-2.490, P=0.015] and mDC[8.80%(5.99%, 12.80%) vs 20.20%(11.20%, 42.80%), Z=-2.226, P=0.029] in patients with active LN were also significantly lower than that of patients with stable LN. The mDC frequency was positively correlated with the levels of complement C3 ( r=0.455, P<0.01) and C4 ( r= 0.289, P, P<0.01). Conclusion:The frequency of mDC and pDC in SLE patients is significantly abnormal, which is closely related to disease activity. In addition, pDC and mDC may be involved in the occurrence and development of LN.