Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
Rheumatol Int. 2013 Sep;33(9):2337-42. doi: 10.1007/s00296-013-2724-1. Epub 2013 Mar 29.
This study aims to investigate the serum IL-21 levels in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its relations with clinical and laboratory features. Fifty-seven patients with SLE and 30 healthy volunteers were recruited in the current study. Serum IL-21 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 10.01. Results showed that IL-21 levels were significantly decreased in the serum of patients with SLE compared with controls (P = 0.026). There was no significant difference regarding serum IL-21 level between SLE patients with nephritis and those without nephritis (P = 0.066); no significant difference was found between less active SLE and more active SLE (P = 0.588). The presence of anemia was associated with low serum IL-21 levels (P = 0.030) in SLE patients. In summary, decreased serum level of IL-21 and its association with anemia indicate a possible role of IL-21 in human SLE. However, further studies are needed to confirm this preliminary results.
本研究旨在探讨系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）患者血清 IL-21 水平及其与临床和实验室特征的关系。本研究纳入了 57 例 SLE 患者和 30 名健康志愿者。采用酶联免疫吸附试验检测血清 IL-21 水平。采用 SPSS 10.01 进行统计分析。结果显示，与对照组相比，SLE 患者血清 IL-21 水平显著降低（P=0.026）。肾炎组和非肾炎组 SLE 患者血清 IL-21 水平无显著差异（P=0.066）；活动期 SLE 和非活动期 SLE 患者血清 IL-21 水平无显著差异（P=0.588）。SLE 患者贫血与血清 IL-21 水平降低相关（P=0.030）。综上所述，IL-21 血清水平降低及其与贫血的相关性表明 IL-21 可能在人类 SLE 中起作用。然而，需要进一步的研究来证实这些初步结果。
