Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the studied patients.
| Volunteers n = 20 |
Class III LN n = 18 |
Class IV LN n = 18 |
Class V LN n = 11 |
AAV n = 19 |
FSGS n = 14 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 31 ± 10 | 31 ± 10 | 30 ± 11 | 33 ± 14 | 54 ± 15 | 36 ± 10 |
| Female, n (%) | 6 (30) | 14 (75) | 16 (89) | 9 (82) | 14 (74) | 4 (29) |
| Months from SLE diagnosis, median (IQR) | — | 23 (0–62) | 36 (4–83) | 27 (8–116) | — | — |
| Months from renal symptoms start, median (IQR) | — | 2 (1–5) | 2 (1–4) | 3 (1–5) | 1 (0–2) | 6 (2–11) |
| Creatinine, mg/dl, median (IQR) | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.8 (0.7–1.3) | 1.2 (0.7–2.1)ϕ | 0.7 (0.5–0.9) | 2.6 (1.2–3.6)* | 0.9 (0.8–1.4) |
| eGFR, ml/min/1.73 m2, median (IQR) | 118 (105–129) | 99 (50–119) | 64 (31–119)* | 111 (103–132) | 24 (14–90)* | 85 (61–107) |
| Proteinuria, g/g, median (IQR) | 0.1 (0.0–0.1) | 2.7 (1.9–4.0)* | 5.7 (3.4–8.4)* | 2.9 (1.9–4.3)* | 2.2 (0.7–3.1)* | 3.3 (1.6–6.2)* |
| Hematuria, n (%) | 0 (0) | 12 (67) | 17 (94) | 7 (64) | 18 (95) | 11 (79) |
| +ve dsDNA antibodies, n (%) | ND | 15 (83) | 16 (89) | 7 (64) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Complement C3, mg/dl | ND | 73 (60–90) | 53 (41–72) | 111 (71–131) | 119 (103–132) | 148 (126–189) |
| Complement C4, mg/dl | ND | 9 (8–14) | 8 (8–14) | 14 (11–18) | 32 (20–42) | 32 (30–46) |
| Interstitial fibrosis, %, median (IQR) | ND | 15 (10–20) | 20 (12.5–40)ϕ | 10 (0–15) | 30 (25–50)+ | 17.5 (10–40) |
| Tubular atrophy, %, median (IQR) | ND | 15 (10–20) | 20 (12.5–30)ϕ | 10 (0–15) | 30 (30–60)+ | 15 (15–40) |
Abbreviations. LN, lupus nephritis; AAV, ANCA-associated vasculitis; FSGS, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate calculated by the CKD-EPI formula; +ve dsDNA antibodies, positive antibodies directed to double-strand DNA; ND, not determined. Mean ± S.D.
*p < 0.05 vs. volunteers, Φp < 0.05 vs. class V LN, and +p < 0.05 vs. FSGS.