ABSTRACT
Objective To investigated the association of serum level of growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) with the disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Methods The expression levels of Gas6 were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in 102 SLE patients and 67 healthy persons; and statistical methods were used to analyze the expressions of Gas6 in the patients with different clinical symptoms. Results The expression of Gas6 was significantly higher in the SLE group [54.59 (2.41 ~ 614.93) ng/mL] than in the healthy control group [19.22 (15.06 ~ 384.93) ng/mL, P < 0.05]. And serum Gas6 levels were significantly higher in the patients with dsDNA (+) , renal disorder , rash and vasculitis than the patients without symptoms (P < 0.05). The expression of Gas6 was correlated with SLEDAI significantly (r = 0.569, P < 0.01). Conclusions Gas6 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE and it is an effective biomarker for the disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.