Urinary CD163 Is a Marker of Active Kidney Disease in Childhood-Onset Lupus Nephritis

Authors

Haleigh Inthavong
Kamala Vanarsa
Jessica Castillo
M John Hicks
Chandra Mohan
Scott E Wenderfer

Publication Date

3-1-2023

Journal

Rheumatology

DOI

10.1093/rheumatology/keac465

PMID

35961024

PMCID

PMC9977135

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

8-12-2022

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Child, Humans, Antigens, CD, Biomarkers, Kidney, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, Lupus Nephritis, CD163 Antigen

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of urine CD163 for detecting disease activity in childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) patients.

METHODS: Sixty consecutive pediatric patients fulfilling four or more ACR criteria for SLE and 20 healthy controls were recruited for testing of urinary CD163 using ELISA. SLE disease activity was assessed using the SLEDAI-2K.

RESULTS: Urine CD163 was significantly higher in patients with active LN than inactive SLE patients and healthy controls, with receiver operating characteristics area under the curve values ranging from 0.93 to 0.96. LN was ascertained by kidney biopsy. Levels of CD163 significantly correlated with the SLEDAI, renal SLEDAI, urinary protein excretion and C3 complement levels. Urine CD163 was also associated with high renal pathology activity index and chronicity index, correlating strongly with interstitial inflammation and interstitial fibrosis based on the examination of concurrent kidney biopsies.

CONCLUSION: Urine CD163 emerges as a promising marker for identifying cSLE patients with active kidney disease. Longitudinal studies are warranted to validate the clinical utility of urine CD163 in tracking kidney disease activity in children with lupus.