Table 1.
Biomarkers involved in systemic lupus erythematosus.
| Biomarker | Expression in Lupus | Correlation with Lupus Activity and SLEDAI | SLE Disease Association | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IFN | ↑ (serum) | Positively correlated | Increase expression of auto-antigens, Central nervous system (CNS) lupus, fever | [54,55] |
| IFN inducible genes | ↑ (serum, urine) | Positively correlated with SLEDAI, correlated with flares and remission periods of SLE | More severe SLE course (CNS, hematologic and renal manifestations) | [56,57,58,59,60] |
| IL-6 | ↑ (serum, urine, BALF) | Positively correlated with SLEDAI | Lupus nephritis, increase anti-dsDNA level, CNS | [69,70,71,72] |
| BLyS | ↑ (serum, plasma) | Positively correlated with SELENA | Increase anti-dsDNA level, not associate with specific organ system involvement | [86,87,88,89] |
| IL-10 | ↑ BALF | Not significantly correlated with disease activity | Increase anti-dsDNA | [72,73,98] |
| IL-17 | ↑ (serum, kidneys) | Correlated with disease activity | Lupus nephritis | [101,102] |
| TNF | ↑ (serum, kidneys) | Correlated with disease activity? | Lupus nephritis | [106,107] |
| IL-12 | ↑ (serum, urine) | Lupus nephritis | [110,111] | |
| miR-146a | ↓ (CD4+ T cells, serum) ↑ (urine) |
Inversely correlated with disease activity | Proteinuria, lupus nephritis, GFR, histological activity index | [112,113,114] |
| miR-125a | ↓ (CD4+ T cells, urine) | Inversely correlated with SLEDAI score | Lupus nephritis (GFR and creatinine ratio) | [51,115,116] |
| miR-126 | ↑ (PBMCs) | Positively correlated with disease activity | Induces DNA hypomethylation , not associate with specific organ system involvement | [37] |
| miR-21 | ↑ (PBMCs) | Positively correlated with SLEDAI score, correlated with flares and remission periods of SLE | Induces DNA hypomethylation , not associate with specific organ system involvement | [38,41,115], |
| miR-148a | ↑ (PBMCs) | Positively correlated with SLEDAI score | Induces DNA hypomethylation , not associate with specific organ system involvement | [38] |
| miR-142 | ↓ (PBMCs) ↑ (plasma, kidneys) |
Not correlated with SLEDAI score | Inhibit T cell activity, not associate with specific organ system involvement | [6,43,117] |
| miR-181a | ↑ (plasma), ↓ (blood) | Positively correlated with SLEDAI score | Not associate with specific organ system involvement | [6,46] |
↑—increased level of biomarker, ↓—decreased level of biomarker.