Expression of neutrophil extracellular trap and B lymphocyte in renal tissue of patients with lupus nephritis and its significance / 中华肾脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the association of expressions of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) and B lymphocyte in renal tissue with lupus activity in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). Methods Immunohistochemistry was.used to detect the expression of NET (citrullinated histone H3 as the marker) and the infiltration of B lymphocyte (CD19 as the marker)in renal specimens of three groups [LN group,n=20; minimal change disease (MCD) group,n=8;healthy control group,n=3].The chronic index and SLE-disease activity index (SLE-DAI) in renal tissues of LN and their correlations with NET and B lymphocytes were examined. Results The expression of NET was not found in the renal tissues of healthy control group and MCD group,while it increased significantly in LN group,especially in glomeruli with moderate and severe mesangial cells proliferation, cellular crescents, and tubulointerstitium with inflammatory cell infiltration.Compared with other types of glomeruli,the expression of NET was significantly upregulated in glomeruli with moderate and severe mesangial cell proliferation (P＜0.01).In the glomeruli with moderate and severe glomerular mesangial cell proliferation,the mean number of =NET positive cells was positively correlated with renal pathological active index (r=0.620,P=0.004),the score of SLE-DAI (r=0.492,P=0.027) and the mean number of NET positive tubular cells (r=0.558,P=0.011).In renal interstitium,the NET positive cells were positively correlated with CD19 positive B lymphocytes (r=0.573,P=0.008) and renal pathological chronic index (r=0.645,P=0.002). Conclusion NET is widely expressed in the renal tissues of lupus nephritis,which may play a role in the active damage of glomeruli.