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  • Serum soluble interleukin 7 receptor is strongly associated with lupus nephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Basic and translational research
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Serum soluble interleukin 7 receptor is strongly associated with lupus nephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
  1. Valérie Badot1,2,
  2. Remco K M A C Luijten3,
  3. Joel A van Roon3,
  4. Geneviève Depresseux1,
  5. Selda Aydin4,
  6. Benoît J Van den Eynde5,
  7. Frédéric A Houssiau1,
  8. Bernard R Lauwerys1
  1. 1Pôle de Recherche en Rhumatologie, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université catholique de Louvain and Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
  2. 2Department of Rheumatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire-Brugmann, Brussels, Belgium
  3. 3Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  4. 4Department of Pathology, Université catholique de Louvain and Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
  5. 5Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels Branch & de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
  1. Correspondence to Dr B R Lauwerys, Pôle de Recherche en Rhumatologie, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université catholique de Louvain and Cliniques Universistaires Saint-Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, boîte B2.5390, Brussel 1200, Belgium; Bernard.Lauwerys{at}uclouvain.be

Abstract

Background The soluble form of the interleukin 7 receptor (sIL-7R) is produced by fibroblasts after stimulation with proinflammatory cytokines. Increased sIL-7R serum and synovial fluid levels were recently demonstrated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives To investigate whether sIL-7R production is dysregulated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and whether this correlates with disease activity.

Methods Serum and urine sIL-7R concentrations were measured by ELISA, and sIL-7R quantitative PCR (qPCR) studies were performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). IL-7R, tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα), IL-1β and IL-17 immunostainings were performed on kidney sections.

Results sIL-7R concentrations were significantly higher in SLE sera than in controls, and correlated with SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores. Accordingly, serum sIL-7R levels were strongly raised in patients with nephritis. Moreover in patients with lupus nephritis, serum sIL-7R decreased upon treatment. sIL-7R gene expression in PBMCs was similar in patients with lupus nephritis and controls. By contrast, abundant perivascular IL-7R expression was seen in SLE kidney biopsy specimens, which was associated with expression of TNFα in the surrounding tissue.

Conclusions Our data indicate that sIL-7R is a marker of SLE disease activity, especially nephritis. In contrast to conventional disease activity markers, sIL-7R is not produced by immune cells, but might instead reflect activation of tissue cells in the target organ.

  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
  • Lupus Nephritis
  • Cytokines

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-202364

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