Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Key Immunopathology Laboratory of Guangdong Province, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, PR China.
J Nephrol. 2013 Jul-Aug;26(4):683-90. doi: 10.5301/jn.5000218. Epub 2012 Oct 4.
B-cell-activating factor belonging to the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF) has been found to have the function of activating B cells and participating in the class switching of B cells; however, its clinical application needs further study. In the present study, the serum BAFF levels of patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) with different histopathological phenotypes were measured.
Levels of serum BAFF in 153 patients with IgAN, 55 healthy controls and 20 disease controls were recorded using commercially available ELISA kits. Their correlations with clinical and histopathological features of patients with IgAN were further evaluated.
Levels of serum BAFF in patients with IgAN were significantly higher than in controls. Serum BAFF levels were significantly higher in patients with mesangial hypercellularity and segmental glomerulosclerosis than in those without. Serum BAFF levels were associated with the severity of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis. Serum BAFF levels were significantly positively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate and serum creatinine. Patients with elevated serum BAFF levels showed significantly greater severity in clinical and histopathological stages.
Levels of serum BAFF were elevated in patients with IgAN and were associated with clinical and pathological features of the disease. Serum BAFF levels could be a noninvasive biomarker for monitoring disease severity of IgAN.
B 细胞激活因子属于肿瘤坏死因子家族（BAFF），已被发现具有激活 B 细胞和参与 B 细胞类别转换的功能；然而，其临床应用需要进一步研究。在本研究中，测量了不同组织病理学表型的 IgA 肾病（IgAN）患者的血清 BAFF 水平。
使用市售 ELISA 试剂盒记录 153 例 IgAN 患者、55 名健康对照者和 20 名疾病对照者的血清 BAFF 水平，并进一步评估其与 IgAN 患者临床和组织病理学特征的相关性。
IgAN 患者的血清 BAFF 水平明显高于对照组。系膜细胞增生和节段性肾小球硬化患者的血清 BAFF 水平明显高于无系膜细胞增生和节段性肾小球硬化患者。血清 BAFF 水平与肾小管萎缩/间质纤维化的严重程度相关。血清 BAFF 水平与估计肾小球滤过率和血清肌酐呈显著正相关。血清 BAFF 水平升高的患者在临床和组织病理学分期中表现出更严重的病情。
IgAN 患者的血清 BAFF 水平升高，并与疾病的临床和病理特征相关。血清 BAFF 水平可能是监测 IgAN 疾病严重程度的非侵入性生物标志物。
