Table 6.
Associations between serum levels of soluble markers of B cell activation and clinical markers of PH assessed among the 18 SSc-PAH patients from the validation cohort.
| RF(IU/mL) | β2m(mg/L) | IgA(g/L) | IgG(g/L) | IgM(g/L) | BAFF(pg/mL) | APRIL(pg/mL) | sBCMA(pg/mL) | sTACI(pg/mL) | sCD23(pg/mL) | sCD25(pg/mL) | sCD27(pg/mL) | CXCL13(pg/mL) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nt-pro-BNP
(pg/mL) |
p=0.18 ρ=0.34 (-0.18;0.7) |
p=0.37 ρ=0.23 (-0.29;0.64) |
p=0.35 ρ=-0.24 (-0.64;0.28) |
p=0.34 ρ=-0.25 (-0.65;0.27) |
p=0.50 ρ=-0.18 (-0.60;0.34) |
p=0.01
ρ=0.62 (0.17;0.84) |
p=0.10 ρ=0.41 (-0.10;0.74) |
p=0.26 ρ=0.29 (-0.23;0.67) |
p=0.56 ρ=0.15 (-0.36;0.59) |
p=0.62 ρ=0.13 (-0.38;0.57) |
p=0.24 ρ=0.30 (-0.22;0.68) |
p=0.82 ρ=0.06 (-0.43;0.52) |
p=0.57 ρ=0.15 (-0.36;0.58) |
|
Peak TRV
(m/s) |
p=0.79 ρ=0.08 (-0.46;0.56) |
p=0.34 ρ=0.27 (-0.29;0.68) |
p=0.19 ρ=-0.36 (-0.73;0.2) |
p=0.24 ρ=-0.32 (-0.71;0.24) |
p=0.02
ρ=-0.59 (-0.84;-0.09) |
p=0.09 ρ=0.45 (-0.1;0.77) |
p=0.06 ρ=0.50 (-0.04;0.80) |
p=0.18 ρ=0.37 (-0.19;0.73) |
p=0.06 ρ=0.49 (-0.05;0.79) |
p=0.69 ρ=0.11 (-0.43;0.59) |
p=0.47 ρ=0.20 (-0.35;0.64) |
p=0.77 ρ=-0.08 (-0.57;0.45) |
p=0.44 ρ=0.21 (-0.34;0.65) |
| FVC/DLCO ratio | p=0.65 ρ=-0.12 (-0.56;0.39) |
p=0.08 ρ=0.43 (-0.07;0.75) |
p=0.68 ρ=0.11 (-0.40;0.56) |
p=0.10 ρ=-0.41 (-0.74;0.10) |
p=0.53 ρ=-0.16 (-0.59;0.35) |
p=0.01
ρ=0.60 (0.15;0.83) |
p=0.73 ρ=0.09 (-0.41;0.54) |
p=0.95 ρ=0.02 (-0.47;0.49) |
p=0.28 ρ=0.28 (-0.24;0.66) |
p=0.83 ρ=0.06 (-0.44;0.52) |
p=0.45 ρ=0.20 (-0.32;0.62) |
p=0.93 ρ=-0.02 (-0.50;0.46) |
p=0.99 ρ=0.004 (-0.48;0.48) |
APRIL, a proliferation-inducing ligand; BAFF, B-cell-activating factor; BCMA, B-cell maturation antigen; CD, cluster of differentiation; CXCL13, C-X-C motif chemokine 13; DLCO, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; FVC, forced vital capacity; Ig, immunoglobulin; IU, international unit; Nt-pro-BNP, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide; PH, pulmonary hypertension; PAH, pulmonary arterial hypertension; RF, rheumatoid factor; s, soluble; SSc, systemic sclerosis; TACI, transmembrane activator and CAML interactor; TRV, tricuspid regurgitation velocity; β2m, β2-microglobulin.
All analyses are adjusted for age. Given the exploratory nature of this analysis, p-values were not corrected for multiplicity.
Effect sizes are expressed as the partial Spearman correlation coefficient ρ (with 95% confidence interval). The usual interpretation is that an absolute value of correlation between 0.00 to 0.19 is very weak; 0.20 to 0.39 weak; 0.40 to 0.59 moderate; 0.60 to 0.79 strong; and greater than 0.80 very strong.