Study on the plasma level of pentraxin 3 and fibroblast growth factors 2 and its association with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus patients / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To elucidate the correlation between peripheral blood levels of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and fibroblast growth factors 2 (FGF2) and clinical manifestations, immunological indexes and disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.Methods:The correlation between peripheral blood levels of PTX3 and FGF2 and clinical manifestations, immunological indexes and disease activity of SLE pa-tients was determined. T test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were analyzed statistically. Results:Plasma PTX3 levels were significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls (3 191±2 423) pg/ml vs (755±432) pg/ml, t=5.595, P<0.01) . The titer of PTX3 in patients with hematologic in-volvement was higher than that in the patients without [(3 810±2 840) pg/ml vs (2 493±1 830) pg/ml, t=2.008, P=0.049). Plasma PTX3 concentration in SLE patients was positively correlated not only with the level of 24 h urine protein ( r=0.498 6, P=0.005 9), but also with ESR ( r= 0.376, P=0.007) and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) scores ( r=0.405, P=0.003). On the contrast, plasma PTX3 concentration in SLE patients was negatively correlated with complement 3 ( r=-0.405, P=0.005). Increased serum PTX3 levels accompanied by increased serum FGF2 levels was observed. Plasma FGF2 concentration in SLE patients was positively correlated with SLEDAI scores ( r=0.326, P=0.019), but negatively correlated with level of comple-ment 3 ( r=-0.414, P=0.004) and complement 4 ( r=-0.451, P=0.007). Levels of FGF2 were higher in patients with positive anti-NuA antibody [(138±91) pg/ml vs (59±68) pg/ml, t=2.996, P=0.004 2), anti-dsDNA antibody [(120±96) pg/ml vs (56±58) pg/ml, t=3.583, P=0.000 7] and anti-rRNP antibody (151±109) pg/ml vs (63±61) pg/ml, t=3.757, P=0.000 4) than in patients with negative of these antibodies. Conclusion:The levels of PTX3 and FGF2 in peripheral blood may play a role in determining the disease activity and clinical phenotype of SLE, and can help doctors to make diagnosis and treatment decisions.