Table 2.
Baseline clinical findings in groups stratified according to the median values of serum C4 and glomerular C4c deposition on renal histology.
| Parameter |
With C4c deposition (n = 20) |
Without C4c deposition (n = 59) |
p-value |
Lower C4 level (n = 40) |
Higher C4 level (n = 39) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 48.55 ± 9.64 | 51.71 ± 11.83 | 0.284 | 51.7 ± 11.74 | 50.1 ± 11.01 | 0.535 |
| Gender (male) | 16 (80%) | 48 (81.4%) | 1.000 | 31 (77.5%) | 33 (84.6%) | 0.420 |
| T2DM (%) | 20 (100%) | 59 (100%) | 40 (100%) | 39 (100%) | ||
| Biopsy-proven | 20 (100%) | 59 (100%) | 40 (100%) | 39 (100%) | ||
| Duration of diabetes (years) |
10.55 ± 6.56 | 11.16 ± 6.16 | 0.710 | 11.13 ± 6.52 | 10.88 ± 5.99 | 0.860 |
| Diabetic retinopathy (%) | 7 (35%) | 19 (32.2%) | 0.818 | 11 (27.5%) | 15 (38.5%) | 0.300 |
| Diabetic neuropathy (%) | 1 (5%) | 4 (6.8%) | 1.000 | 4 (10%) | 1 (2.6%) | 0.371 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.21 ± 4.27 | 24.49 ± 3.69 | 0.087 | 25.11 ± 4.75 | 24.73 ± 2.81 | 0.663 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 145.55 ± 16.05 | 144.95 ± 23.03 | 0.914 | 145.23 ± 21.04 | 144.97 ± 22.01 | 0.959 |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 87.4 ± 12.08 | 84.03 ± 12.24 | 0.289 | 87.38 ± 12.26 | 82.33 ± 11.77 | 0.066 |
| Hypertension (%) | 14 (70%) | 43 (72.9%) | 0.804 | 28 (70%) | 29 (74.4%) | 0.666 |
| Cardiovascular diseases (%) | 0 (0) | 6 (10.2%) | 0.481 | 4 (10%) | 2 (5.1%) | 0.695 |
| Urinary protein (g/d) | 6.82 (2.27, 12.14) | 2.62 (1.77, 5.73) | 0.008 | 2.71 (1.79, 5.68) | 4.13 (1.87, 8.72) | 0.178 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) | 47.5 (28.5, 82.75) | 65 (38, 81) | 0.185 | 65 (36.5, 82.5) | 55 (37, 82) | 0.655 |
| Scr (umol/L) | 137.45 (90.75, 214.15) | 110.4 (90.8, 159.5) | 0.127 | 108.6 (91.73, 167.58) | 124.5 (89.2, 175.9) | 0.441 |
| Serum albumin (g/L) | 28.69 ± 7.04 | 32.38 ± 6.69 | 0.039 | 31.83 ± 6.45 | 31.05 ± 7.44 | 0.624 |
| HbA1c (%) | 7 (6.2, 7.98) | 7.3 (6.8, 8.1) | 0.118 | 7.2 (6.63, 8.3) | 7.2 (6.7, 8.1) | 0.879 |
| TG (mmol/L) | 1.97 (1.4, 3.7) | 1.53 (1.05, 1.89) | 0.029 | 1.43 (1.11 1.87) | 1.74 (1, 2.55) | 0.283 |
| TC (mmol/L) | 5.70 ± 1.09 | 5.26 ± 2.0 | 0.214 | 5.43 ± 1.85 | 5.31 ± 1.79 | 0.768 |
| LDL-C | 3.74 ± 0.93 | 3.38 ± 1.39 | 0.283 | 3.51 ± 1.31 | 3.43 ± 1.28 | 0.788 |
| HDL-C | 1.13 (0.89, 1.39) | 1.04 (0.85, 1.36) | 0.701 | 1.06 (0.85, 1.39) | 1.04 (0.87, 1.32) | 0.930 |
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 106.4 ± 14.72 | 110.09 ± 23.05 | 0.505 | 111.13 ± 19.51 | 107.13 ± 22.94 | 0.407 |
| IgA (mg/dl) | 232.5 (193, 259.75) | 223 (185, 309) | 0.644 | 227 (192.75, 324.75) | 226 (176, 268) | 0.427 |
| IgG (mg/dl) | 909.15 ± 407.69 | 1,007.07 ± 324.88 | 0.279 | 1,030.4 ± 381.54 | 932.9 ± 305.98 | 0.215 |
| Complement C3 (mg/dl) | 109.59 ± 15.44 | 109.56 ± 20.47 | 0.996 | 100.5 ± 15.42 | 118.87 ± 18.43 | <0.001 |
| Complement C4 (mg/dl) | 28.97 ± 8.59 | 28.89 ± 8.95 | 0.972 | 21.98 ± 4.86 | 36.03 ± 5.68 | <0.001 |
| CKD stage (1/2/3a/3b/4/5) | 3/4/3/5/5/0 | 12/21/7/14/5/0 | 0.092 | 6/16/5/8/5/0 | 9/9/5/11/5/0 | 0.809 |
| Pathological characteristics | ||||||
| Glomerular class (I/IIa/IIb/III/IV) | 0/0/3/11/6 | 0/4/14/30/11 | 0.118 | 0/4/8/19/9 | 0/0/9/22/8 | 0.6 |
| IFTA Score (0/1/2/3) | 0/1/7/12 | 1/15/19/24 | 0.051 | 0/9/13/18 | 1/7/13/18 | 0.907 |
| Interstitial inflammation score (0/1/2) | 0/6/14 | 4/37/18 | 0.002 | 3/23/14 | 1/20/18 | 0.239 |
| Vascular lesion Score (0/1/2) | 7/8/5 | 23/19/17 | 0.971 | 16/14/10 | 14/13/12 | 0.595 |
| Global sclerosis (%) | 37.72 ± 19.71 | 30.7 ± 27.46 | 0.296 | 34.62 ± 26.44 | 30.28 ± 25.24 | 0.458 |
| Glomerular C3c deposition (%) | 15 (75%) | 27 (45.8%) | 0.024 | 26 (65%) | 16 (41%) | 0.033 |
| Glomerular C1q deposition (%) | 19 (95%) | 19 (32.2%) | <0.001 | 21 (52.5%) | 17 (43.6%) | 0.428 |
| Glomerular IgG deposition (%) | 7 (35%) | 17 (28.8%) | 0.603 | 15 (37.5%) | 9 (23.1%) | 0.163 |
| Glomerular IgM deposition (%) | 20 (100%) | 49 (83.1%) | 0.114 | 36 (90%) | 33 (84.6%) | 0.703 |
| Progression to ESRD (%) | 11 (55%) | 21 (35.6%) | 0.127 | 15 (37.5%) | 17 (43.6%) | 0.581 |
| Progression to doubling of creatinine (%) | 1 (5%) | 7 (11.9%) | 0.652 | 4 (10%) | 4 (10.3%) | 1.000 |
| Therapy | ||||||
| RAAS inhibitor (%) | 14 (70%) | 44 (74.6%) | 0.689 | 27 (67.5%) | 31 (79.5%) | 0.228 |
| Oral hypoglycemic agents (%) | 8 (40%) | 29 (49.2%) | 0.478 | 19 (47.5%) | 18 (46.2%) | 0.905 |
| Insulin therapy (%) | 19 (95%) | 43 (72.9%) | 0.078 | 30 (75%) | 32 (82.1%) | 0.446 |
| Statins (%) | 10 (50%) | 22 (37.3%) | 0.317 | 14 (35%) | 18 (46.2%) | 0.313 |
ESRD, end stage renal disease; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; BMI, Body mass index; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c, Hemoglobin A1c; Scr, serum creatine; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterin; TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; CKD, chronic kidney disease; RAAS, Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System; C1q, complement 1q; C3, complement 3; C4, complement 4; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IgM, immunoglobulin M.
Continuous variables were presented as means ± standard deviation or medians (interquartile range), categorical variables as n (%). The p value with statistics significant (two-tailed p < 0.05) in the tables were marked bold. Other bold values were parameters for different classification.