The Clinical Significance of Anti-nucleosome Antibodies in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephritis

Objective To detect the level of serum anti-nucleosome antibodies (AnuA) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),to investigate the relationship between AnuA and SLE and lupus nephritis (LN),so as to assess the utility of AnuA for markers of disease activity in SLE.Methods AnuA were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in the sera of 67 SLE patients (including 38 LN patients),53 patients with other rheumatic diseases and 27 healthy person.Results The serum level of AnuA in SLE patients was significantly higher than that of the control group (P0.01),and in SLE patients with LN it was also higher than those of without LN (P0.01).The level of AnuA in 34 SLE patients after treatment was significantly lower than that of pre-treatment(P0.01).Conclusions AnuA may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE and the high level of serum AnuA is correlated with renal lesion.The dynamic observation of the level of serum AnuA may help to predict the prognosis and treatment effectiveness of the disease.