ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the state of Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and its role in the pathogenesis. Methods Plasma level of interleukin-18 and interleukin-13 in 18 patients with active LN and 16 normal controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA). IL-18 and IL-13 expression in the renal tissues from 18 patients and 6 normal renal tissues were also detected by immunohistochemical assay. The ratio of plasma and renal IL-18/IL-13 was then calculated. Results Plasma levels and renal expression of IL-13 and IL-18 in patients with LN were increased significantly compared to those of normal controls (P0.05). The ratio of renal IL-18/IL-13 was not significantly different among all types of LN and normal controls. The ratio of plasma IL-18/IL-13 was positively correlated with LN renal tissue activity index (AI), but no correlationship could be found in renal IL-18/IL-13 ratio. Conclusion It seems that the immune disturbance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can not be simply divided into Th1 predominant and Th2 predominant. It seems far complicated than this Th1/Th2 paradigm. It may be affected by the state of disease activity, the lesion location and the type of pathology.