Changes in serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor and fas–ligand expression in relation to disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus

الملخص EN

Objective : Serum soluble IL-2 receptors (sIL2R) levels and Fas-ligand (Fas-L) expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were determined in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) to assess whether there was any relationship between them and disease activity.

Methodology : Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant assay (ELISA) technique was done on serum samples collected from 36 SLE patients and 25 healthy controls for determination of sIL2R level.

RT-PCR was done also on PBMC samples collected from the same patients and controls for detection of Fas-L mRNA.

Results : We found significant increase of sIL2R in the SLE group (327.6 ±73.5 pg / ml) compared to healthy controls (119.7 ± 12.6 pg / ml) (p < 0.001).

Levels of sIL2R were found to correlate significantly with clinical manifestation and serological markers of active SLE: fatigue (p < 0.05), renal involvement (p < 0.01), pulmonary involvement (p < 0.05), high levels of anti-ds DNA antibody (p < 0.001) and high C3 level (p < 0.0001).

Fas-L mRNA was expressed in PBMC from (88.9%) SLE patients and not detected in healthy controls.

Fas-L positive SLE patients correlate significantly with clinical manifestation and serological markers of active SLE: fatigue (p < 0.0001), rash (p < 0.05), renal affection (p < 0.001), high levels of anti-ds DNA antibody (p < 0.0001) and high C3 level (p < 0.0001).

Levels of sIL2R and Fas-L expression correlate significantly with disease activity (p<0.001, 0.001, 0.05, 0.005, respectively).

Conclusion : these findings indicate that sIL2R represent a new early useful serological marker to monitor disease activity in SLE patients.

Fas-L expression increased in SLE patients, this increasing was in parallel to disease activity, so it is used as late marker to monitor the severity of the disease.