Relationship of profiles of antinuclear antibodies and cytokines in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by pathological activation of the innate and acquired immune response, the formation of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), and dysregulation of cytokine production. Objective: to study the relationship of ANA and cytokine profiles in patients with SLE using multiplex immune analysis (MIA) of these biomarkers. We examined 94 patients with SLE (SLICC diagnosis criteria, 2012) and 28 healthy donors. Profiles of ANA and cytokines in blood serum were determined on the basis of suspension microarray technology xMAP. In SLE, antibodies to dsDNA (52.1 %), nucleosomes (54.3 %) and SS-A/Ro (37.2 %), less often to Sm (28.7 %), RibP (14, 9 %), RNP-70 (13.8 %) and SS-B/La (11.7 %). Disease activity (SLEDAI-2K) positively correlated with the concentration of antibodies to dsDNA (r = 0.6), nucleosomes (r = 0.7), Sm (r = 0.4) and RibP (r = 0.3) (p < 0.05). In the sera of patients with SLE, an increase in the levels of IL-4, -6, -8, -12, GM-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1β, RANTES and a decrease in the content of IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-9, IL-10, eotaxin, G-CSF, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, TNF-α, FGF, PDGF-BB, VEGF compared to donors (p < 0.05). An increase in the concentration of IP-10 and MCP-1 was associated with high disease activity (r = 0.4; r = 0.3; p < 0.05), hyperproduction of antibodies to dsDNA (r = 0.3), nucleosomes (r = 0.5), Sm (r = 0.5), SS-B/La (r = 0.3), RibP (r = 0.4) (p < 0.05) and antibodies to Sm (r = 0.3), SS-B/La (r = 0.3), RibP (r = 0.3) (p < 0.05), respectively.Conclusion: the formation of ANA and high activity of SLE are associated with the overexpression of chemokines IP-10 and MCP-1 induced by IFN.