Study On The Relationship Between Interleukin 27 And Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective To explore the role of interleukin 27 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), so as to provide scientific evidences for the pathogenetic mechanisms study and treatment of SLE.Methods SLE patients were in- and out-patients of the Rheumatology Department in the Anhui Provincial Hospital, health volunteers were recruited as controls, patients and controls were age- and sex- matched. General information, laboratory examination results and state of the organ or system damage were collected by self-designed questionnaire containing the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum IL-27 of 56 new-onset patients and 30 healthy controls; FQ-PCR was used to measure IL-27 mRNA expression among 25 new-onset patients and 15 controls. The data were analyzed by SPSS 10.01 software. Comparisons of the differences between different groups were made by the Student's t- test or Mann-whitney rank sum test for continuous variables,χ2 test or Fisher's exact test for dichotomous variables. Pearson correlation or Spearman correlation were used to analyze the correlation between two continuous variables. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results ELISA results showed serum IL-27 level in SLE patients was significantly lower than that in normal controls (Z=-4.259,P=0.000); Compared with SLE patients without nephritis, serum IL-27 in patients with nephritis was significantly decreased (Z=-2.209,P=0.027). However, there was no significant difference between Less active SLE and More active SLE (P=0.949). Correlation analysis between serum IL-27 level and SLEDAI showed no association (P=0.990). There was no significant difference of IL-27mRNA expression between SLE patients and normal controls (P=0.334), as well as between lupus nephritis (LN) and without LN group (=0.254).Conclusions Although there was no significant difference of IL-27mRNA expression between SLE patients and normal controls, a decreased serum IL-27 level in SLE patients and in patients with nephritis suggested that this cytokine might be implicated in the pathomechanism of this disease.