الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract SLE is a chronic, relapsing autoimmune disease that can affect various organs, such as the skin, joints, kidneys, and serosal membranes. Renal involvement in SLE carries a poor prognosis and significant morbidity and mortality. The 5- and 10-year renal survival rates of lupus nephritis range between 83%– 92% and 74–84% respectively, up to 25% of patients still develop end stage renal failure 10 years after onset of renal disease. In 5% of cases renal abnormalities may occur up to several years before other diagnostic criteria or serological abnormalities become apparent. Early clinical and histologic diagnosis of LN is pivotal in order to minimize the risk of progression to ESRD. In this setting, a renal biopsy is generally indicated in any case with suspected lupus nephritis. Kidney biopsy is an invasive procedure and accompanied by potential risks. Thus defining a reliable biomarker of kidney involvement in SLE is highly desirable. Our cross sectional comparative study aimed at quantitatively analyzing propotions and absolute cell numbers of CD4+ CD25_ FoxP3+ Treg cells by flow cytometry (FACS) and the correlation between findings, renal disease and SLEDAI score in SLE was documented. |