Anti-ficolin-3 Autoantibodies in Lupus Nephritis
Condition: Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic
MeSH terms: Nephritis; Lupus Nephritis; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the
      production of multiple autoantibodies. Antibodies against Ficolin-3 were previously
      identified in the sera of some SLE patients, but their prevalence and significance have not
      been yet investigated. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of
      anti-ficolin-3 antibodies among SLE patients and to investigate their potential as diagnostic
      and/or prognostic biomarkers in SLE.

      In this retrospective study, clinical data were obtained from medical files and blood samples
      were selected from preexisting biological collection. SLE patients (n=165) were informed and
      did not objected, they were matched to healthy controls (n=48). Disease activity was
      determined according to the SLEDAI score. Anti-ficolin-3, anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q antibodies
      levels were measured in sera by ELISA. First, a highly significant difference was found in
      the anti-ficolin-3 levels between SLE patients and healthy subjects. Anti-ficolin-3
      antibodies were detected as positive in 58 of 165 (35%) SLE patients. The titer of
      anti-ficolin-3 antibodies was correlated with the SLEDAI score (p<0.0001). The presence of
      anti-ficolin-3 antibodies was associated with anti-C1q and anti-dsDNA antibodies. Regarding
      associations with clinical manifestations, only the presence of active lupus nephritis was
      significantly associated with the presence of anti-ficolin-3 antibodies (p=0.0001). This
      association with renal involvement was higher with anti-ficolin-3 antibodies than with other
      auto-antibodies. Interestingly, the combination of anti-ficolin-3 and anti-C1q antibodies
      demonstrated higher specificity than any other traditional biomarker.

      These results suggest that anti-ficolin-3 could be useful for the diagnosis of active
      nephritis in SLE patients.
    

Detailed description: 
      For this retrospective study, a brief summary should be enough.
    

Intervention name(s): Biological analysis
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Biological analysis :
ficolin-3
anti-ficolin 3 antibodies
anti-C1q antibodies
Other intervention name(s): Biological analysis on pre-existing serum collection
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Retrospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        SLE patients were studied from medical data files of the Departments of Internal Medicine
        (Grenoble University Hospital, France) and Nephrology (Conception University Hospital,
        Marseille, France). For SLE patients, clinical and biological manifestations as well as
        treatments received and disease activity evaluated using the SLE Disease Activity Index
        (SLEDAI) at the time of sampling were recorded. SLE patients were divided into subgroups as
        described in group section.
      
Biospecimen description: 
      one serum sample per patient.
    
Keywords: ficolin-3; anti-ficolin-3 antibodies; lupus nephritis; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; biomarker