Expression and clinical significance of the NEK7-NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of the NEK7-NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as its clinical significance.

METHODS

A total of 38 SLE patients and 33 healthy volunteers were recruited. Real time PCR and western blotting were performed to determine mRNA and protein levels of , NLRP3 inflammasome components (, , and ), and downstream cytokines ( and ) in PBMCs from the two groups. ELISA was used to detect serum levels of and . The same methods were used to detect changes in the above indices in the 25 SLE patients after treatment. Correlations between clinical and laboratory parameters were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Compared to those in healthy controls, levels of and were lower in SLE patients; however, , , and were expressed at higher levels. mRNA levels of , , and were inversely correlated with disease activity, whereas a positive correlation was observed with and . After treatment, mRNA levels of and increased, whereas , , and decreased significantly. Compared to those in SLE patients without renal damage, patients with lupus nephritis (LN) exhibited lower mRNA levels of , , and but higher levels of , , and .

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that the expression of the NEK7-NLRP3 complex might play a protective role in the pathogenesis of SLE and is inversely correlated with disease activity. A positive effect of on was observed, and the low expression of in SLE patients might be related to the low expression of . Overexpression of in SLE patients mediates the maturation and release of and , and contributes to the pathogenesis of SLE and LN.