ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the expressions of stromal cell derived factor 1 α (SDF-1α) and cysteine-X-cysteine chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods Forty hospitalized SLE patients were recruited and twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled as normal controls.The percentage of CD3+CD4+CXCR4+,CD3+CD8+CXCR4+ and the plasma concentration level of SDF-1α in the control group and SLE patients were detected by flow cytometry and ELISA.The relationship between SDF-1α/CXCR4 and SLEDAI was explored.Kruskal-Wallis H,Pearson's and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.Results the expression of SDF-1α [329 (127,539) pg/ml] and CXCR4 [CD3+CD4+CXCR4+:4.20(2.01,6.35)％,CD3+CD4+CXCR4+:2.70(1.68,4.20)％] were significantly elevated in SLE patients when compared to the normal controls (Z=-6.277,-5.707,-4.885,respectively,all P=0.000),and were significantly increased in highly active SLE patients than less active SLE (Z=-5.414,-5.256,-5.312,P＜0.01).The expression of SDF-1α and CXCR4 in the butterfly erythema group,anemia group and proteinuria group were significantly higher than the normal group (P＜0.05).Both SDF-1αand CXCR4 were positively correlated with SLEDAI (r=0.857,0.830,0.861,respectively,all P＜0.01).Conclusion The expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 increase significantly in the peripheral blood of SLE patients and there is close relationship between SDF-1α/CXCR4 and disease activity,organ damage.The results of this study suggestthat SDF-1α/CXCR4 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.