Marín-Rosales Miguel, Palafox-Sánchez Claudia Azucena, Franco-Topete Ramón Antonio, Carrillo-Ballesteros Francisco Josué, Cruz Alvaro, Salazar-Camarena Diana Celeste, Muñoz-Valle José Francisco, Ramos-Solano Francisco
Departamento de Reumatología, Hospital General de Occidente, Secretaría de Salud Jalisco, Guadalajara 45170, Mexico.
Grupo de Inmunología Molecular, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico.
J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 22;12(1):71. doi: 10.3390/jcm12010071.
Background: The B-cell activating factor (BAFF) controls the maturation and survival of B cells. An imbalance in this cytokine has been associated with systemic autoimmunity in SLE and lupus nephritis (LN). However, few investigations have evaluated the tissular expression of BAFF in LN. This study aimed to associate BAFF system expression at the tissular level with the proliferative LN classes. Methods: The analysis included eighteen kidney tissues, with sixteen LN (class III = 5, class IV = 6, class III/IV+V = 4, and class V = 1), and two controls. The tissular expression was evaluated with an immunochemistry assay. A Cytation5 imaging reader and ImageJ software were used to analyze the quantitative expression. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The expressions of BAFF, A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), and their receptors were observed in glomerular, tubular, and interstitial zones, with BAFF being the most strongly expressed in the overall analysis. BAFF-Receptor (BR3), transmembrane activator and CALM interactor (TACI), and B-Cell maturation antigen (BCMA) displayed higher expressions in LN class IV in all zones analyzed (p < 0.05). Additionally, a positive correlation was found between APRIL, TACI, and BCMA at the glomerular level; BCMA and APRIL in the interstitial zone; and BR3, TACI, and BCMA in the tubule (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The expression of BAFF and BAFF receptors is mainly associated with LN class IV, emphasizing the participation of these receptors as an essential pathogenic factor in kidney involvement in SLE patients.
B细胞活化因子（BAFF）控制B细胞的成熟和存活。这种细胞因子的失衡与系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）和狼疮性肾炎（LN）中的系统性自身免疫有关。然而，很少有研究评估BAFF在LN中的组织表达。本研究旨在将组织水平的BAFF系统表达与增殖性LN类别相关联。方法：分析包括18个肾脏组织，其中16个为LN（III类 = 5个，IV类 = 6个，III/IV + V类 = 4个，V类 = 1个），以及2个对照。通过免疫化学分析评估组织表达。使用Cytation5成像读数器和ImageJ软件分析定量表达。p值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。结果：在肾小球、肾小管和间质区域观察到BAFF、增殖诱导配体（APRIL）及其受体的表达，在总体分析中BAFF表达最强。在所有分析区域中，BAFF受体（BR3）、跨膜激活剂和CALM相互作用分子（TACI）以及B细胞成熟抗原（BCMA）在IV类LN中表达较高（p < 0.05）。此外，在肾小球水平，APRIL、TACI和BCMA之间存在正相关；在间质区域，BCMA和APRIL之间存在正相关；在肾小管中，BR3、TACI和BCMA之间存在正相关（p < 0.05）。结论：BAFF及其受体的表达主要与IV类LN相关，强调这些受体作为SLE患者肾脏受累的重要致病因素的参与。
