Serum growth arrest-specific protein 6 levels are a reliable biomarker of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) has been suggested to be a biomarker of disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erthematosus (SLE). We investigated the clinical significance of this protein in Korean SLE.

METHODS:

Blood samples were collected from 150 SLE patients and 50 normal controls (NC). In addition, follow-up samples were collected from 50 SLE patients.

RESULTS:

Serum Gas6 levels of SLE patients (43.01 ± 28.02 ng/mL) were higher than those of NC (20.15 ± 9.23 ng/mL, p<0.001). When evaluated sensitivity and specificity of the Gas6 for diagnosing SLE using ROC curves, the sensitivity and specificity were 72.7 % and 84 % with a cut-off value of 25.3 ng/mL. In the ROC analysis of Gas6, anti-dsDNA antibody, ESR, complement 3 and complement 4 to identify patients with active lupus, area under the curve (AUC) of Gas6 was highest with 0.763. Serum Gas6 levels were significantly higher in the patients with serositis (70.04 ± 30.85 ng/mL) and renal disorder (65.66 ± 32.28 ng/mL) compared to those without (41.88 ± 27.44 ng/mL, p=0.033, 40.3 ± 26.33 ng/mL, p=0.001, respectively). Gas6 levels were correlated positively with anti-dsDNA antibody (r=0.199, p=0.015), ESR (r=0.204, p=0.013) and SLEDAI (r=0.512, p<0.001). In addition, serum Gas6 levels were correlated negatively with hemoglobin (r= -0.165, p=0.043), lymphocyte count (r= -0.165, p=0.043), complement 3 (r= -0.343, p<0.001) and complement 4 (r= -0.316, p<0.001). Furthermore, change in serum Gas6 levels was correlated with change in SLEDAI levels in the SLE patients that were followed up (r=0.524, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION:

These results suggest that serum Gas6 can be a reliable clinical marker for monitoring disease activity and treatment response in SLE.

• Authors: Hyoun-Ah Kim, Jin-Young Nam, Ja-Young Jeon, Jeong-Mi An, Ju-Yang Jung, Chang-Bum Bae, Chang-Hee Suh
• Journal: Journal of clinical immunology (J Clin Immunol) Vol. 33 Issue 1 Pg. 143-50 (Jan 2013) ISSN: 1573-2592 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 22914895 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Inflammation Mediators
• Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
• growth arrest-specific protein 6

Topics

• Adult
• Biomarkers (blood)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Inflammation Mediators (blood, physiology)
• Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins (biosynthesis, blood)
• Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic (blood, diagnosis, immunology)
• Middle Aged
• Reproducibility of Results
• Republic of Korea
• Treatment Outcome