Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Chemistry, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2011 Jun;50(6):1064-9. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keq459. Epub 2011 Jan 28.
SLE is a systemic autoimmune disease with an annual incidence of 3.8 per 100,000. Several pathogenic mechanisms are believed to be operating in SLE, including an impaired clearance of apoptotic cells, activation of the type I IFN pathway and generation of autoimmune leucocytes. Growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) and its receptor Axl are known to regulate inflammation and may be implicated in lupus pathogenesis. We have recently developed immunological methods to quantify the vitamin-K-dependent protein Gas6 and its soluble receptor sAxl in human plasma, which we have used to investigate the role of Gas6 and soluble Axl in SLE.
We have investigated the relation between the plasma concentrations of Gas6 and sAxl and disease activity and specific symptoms in 96 SLE patients.
Gas6 and sAxl concentrations correlated with SLEDAI (r = 0.48, P < 0.001 and r = 0.39, P < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, concentrations of Gas6 and sAxl correlated with ESR and CRP and inversely with haemoglobin levels. Gas6 and sAxl concentrations were significantly higher in patients with anti-DNA antibodies, leucopenia and GN.
The plasma concentrations of Gas6 and sAxl vary with disease activity in SLE, in particular GN, and may have a role in lupus pathogenesis. Furthermore, Gas6 and sAxl may be of use as biomarkers of disease activity.
SLE 是一种系统性自身免疫性疾病，年发病率为每 10 万人中有 3.8 例。几种发病机制被认为与 SLE 有关，包括凋亡细胞清除受损、I 型 IFN 途径激活和自身免疫性白细胞生成。生长停滞特异性蛋白 6（Gas6）及其受体 Axl 被认为可调节炎症，可能与狼疮发病机制有关。我们最近开发了用于定量人血浆中维生素 K 依赖性蛋白 Gas6 及其可溶性受体 sAxl 的免疫学方法，并将其用于研究 Gas6 和可溶性 Axl 在 SLE 中的作用。
我们研究了 96 例 SLE 患者的血浆 Gas6 和 sAxl 浓度与疾病活动度和特定症状之间的关系。
Gas6 和 sAxl 浓度与 SLEDAI 相关（r = 0.48，P < 0.001 和 r = 0.39，P < 0.001）。此外，Gas6 和 sAxl 浓度与 ESR 和 CRP 相关，与血红蛋白水平呈负相关。抗 DNA 抗体、白细胞减少和 GN 患者的 Gas6 和 sAxl 浓度明显升高。
SLE 患者的血浆 Gas6 和 sAxl 浓度随疾病活动度变化，特别是 GN，可能在狼疮发病机制中起作用。此外，Gas6 和 sAxl 可能作为疾病活动的生物标志物。
