Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.
Nephrology (Carlton). 2013 Mar;18(3):209-14. doi: 10.1111/nep.12032.
B cell activating factor belonging to the tumour necrosis factor family (BAFF) and a proliferation inducing ligand (APRIL) are two tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-like cytokines that were found to be elevated in many autoimmune diseases. Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease is a typical severe autoimmune disease characterized by raised serum anti-GBM antibodies. In this study we aimed to detect the serum levels of BAFF and APRIL in patients with anti-GBM disease, and their clinical significance was further analyzed.
Forty-seven patients with anti-GBM disease were enrolled in this study. Forty-eight healthy individuals were used as normal controls. The levels of serum BAFF and APRIL were assessed using commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits. The association between the levels of serum BAFF and APRIL, and the clinical and pathological parameters were further evaluated.
The serum levels of BAFF and APRIL in patients with anti-GBM disease were significantly higher than that in normal controls (12.3 ± 14.1 ng/mL vs. 0.9 ± 0.3 ng/mL, P < 0.001; 19.1 ± 22.9 ng/mL vs. 1.6 ± 4.6 ng/mL, P < 0.001), respectively. The levels of serum APRIL were correlated with the titres of anti-GBM antibodies (r = 0.347, P = 0.041), and the levels of serum BAFF were associated with the percentage of glomeruli with crescents (r = 0.482, P = 0.015) in patients with anti-GBM disease.
The levels of serum BAFF and APRIL were raised in patients with anti-GBM disease and might be associated with disease activity and kidney damage.
B 细胞激活因子属于肿瘤坏死因子家族（BAFF）和增殖诱导配体（APRIL）是两种肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）样细胞因子，在许多自身免疫性疾病中发现其升高。抗肾小球基底膜（GBM）病是一种典型的严重自身免疫性疾病，其特征是血清中抗 GBM 抗体升高。在这项研究中，我们旨在检测抗 GBM 病患者血清中 BAFF 和 APRIL 的水平，并进一步分析其临床意义。
本研究纳入了 47 例抗 GBM 病患者。48 名健康个体作为正常对照。使用商业上可获得的酶联免疫吸附测定试剂盒评估血清 BAFF 和 APRIL 水平。进一步评估了血清 BAFF 和 APRIL 水平与临床和病理参数之间的关系。
抗 GBM 病患者的血清 BAFF 和 APRIL 水平明显高于正常对照组（12.3±14.1 ng/mL 比 0.9±0.3 ng/mL，P<0.001；19.1±22.9 ng/mL 比 1.6±4.6 ng/mL，P<0.001）。血清 APRIL 水平与抗 GBM 抗体滴度相关（r=0.347，P=0.041），血清 BAFF 水平与抗 GBM 病患者新月体形成的肾小球百分比相关（r=0.482，P=0.015）。
抗 GBM 病患者血清 BAFF 和 APRIL 水平升高，可能与疾病活动度和肾脏损害有关。
