Project description:Systemic lupus erythematosus is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease marked by the presence of pathogenic autoantibodies, immune dysregulation, and chronic inflammation that may lead to increased morbidity and early mortality from end-organ damage. More than half of all systemic lupus erythematosus patients will develop lupus nephritis. Genetic-association studies have identified more than 50 polymorphisms that contribute to lupus nephritis pathogenesis, including genetic variants associated with altered programmed cell death and defective immune clearance of programmed cell death debris. These variants may support the generation of autoantibody-containing immune complexes that contribute to lupus nephritis. Genetic variants associated with lupus nephritis also affect the initial phase of innate immunity and the amplifying, adaptive phase of the immune response. Finally, genetic variants associated with the kidney-specific effector response may influence end-organ damage and the progression to end-stage renal disease and death. This review discusses genetic insights of key pathogenic processes and pathways that may lead to lupus nephritis, as well as the clinical implications of these findings as they apply to recent advances in biologic therapies.
Project description:Lupus nephritis (LN) is an ominous complication of systemic lupus erythematosus, and the risk factors for the disease progression are not well characterized.In a retrospective study, the authors evaluated the mode of presentation and outcomes of 163 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven LN, who presented to the center between January 1999 and September 2008. Using stepwise logistic regression analysis, the authors assessed risk factors independently associated with response to treatment and to progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in proliferative LN (PLN).Ninety percent of the patients belonged to minority population. Among 122 patients with class III and IV LN (PLN), 76 patients received intravenous cyclophosphamide and 38 patients received mycophenolate for induction, whereas 34 patients received intravenous cyclophosphamide and 63 patients received mycophenolate for maintenance. Thirty-six (30%) patients with PLN progressed to ESRD, and 3 patients died over a mean follow-up of 37.5 months. In multivariate analysis, chronicity index (CI) (P = 0.0007) and hypertension (P = 0.042) positively correlated with progression to ESRD and death, and CI was associated with increased probability of nonresponse to treatment (P = 0.001). In addition, mycophenolate as maintenance agent was associated with increased likelihood of sustained complete remission and partial remission (P = 0.045).In patients with LN, hypertension and a high CI are independent risk factors for progression to ESRD or death. Furthermore, a high CI is associated with poor response, and mycophenolate as a maintenance agent may improve the response to treatment.
Project description:BackgroundTreatment response in lupus nephritis (LN) is defined clinically, without consideration of renal histology. Few studies have systematically examined histologic responses to induction therapy. In LN patients who underwent protocol kidney biopsies after induction immunosuppression, we describe the renal histology of the second biopsy and correlate histologic activity and damage with short- and long-term kidney outcomes.MethodsPatients with suspected LN were biopsied for diagnosis (Biopsy 1), and those with proliferative LN were rebiopsied after induction (Biopsy 2). Histologic activity and damage at each biopsy were calculated as the National Institutes of Health activity and chronicity indices. Complete and partial renal responses after induction and after long-term follow-up were determined clinically.ResultsOne-third of patients who achieved a complete clinical response after induction had persistently high histologic activity, and 62% of patients who had complete histologic remission on rebiopsy were still clinically active. Chronic renal damage increased after induction even in complete clinical responders. Chronicity at Biopsy 2 associated with long-term kidney function and development of chronic kidney disease.ConclusionsEarly clinical and histologic outcomes are discordant in proliferative LN, and neither correlates with long-term renal outcome. The kidney accrues chronic damage rapidly and despite clinical response in LN. Preservation of kidney function may require therapeutic targeting of both chronic damage and inflammation during LN induction treatment.
Project description:ObjectiveTo validate clinical indices of lupus nephritis activity and damage when used in children against the criterion standard of kidney biopsy findings.MethodsIn 83 children requiring kidney biopsy, the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index renal domain (SLEDAI-R), British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index renal domain (BILAG-R), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) renal activity score (SLICC-RAS), and SLICC Damage Index renal domain (SDI-R) were measured. Fixed effects and logistic models were calculated to predict International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) class; low-to-moderate versus high lupus nephritis activity (National Institutes of Health [NIH] activity index [AI]) score: ≤10 versus >10; tubulointerstitial activity index (TIAI) score: ≤5 versus >5; or the absence versus presence of lupus nephritis chronicity (NIH chronicity index) score: 0 versus ≥1.ResultsThere were 10, 50, and 23 patients with ISN/RPS class I/II, III/IV, and V, respectively. Scores of the clinical indices did not differentiate among patients by ISN/RPS class. The SLEDAI-R and SLICC-RAS but not the BILAG-R differed with lupus nephritis activity status defined by NIH-AI scores, while only the SLEDAI-R scores differed between lupus nephritis activity status based on TIAI scores. The sensitivity and specificity of the SDI-R to capture lupus nephritis chronicity was 23.5% and 91.7%, respectively. Despite being designed to measure lupus nephritis activity, SLICC-RAS and SLEDAI-R scores significantly differed with lupus nephritis chronicity status.ConclusionCurrent clinical indices of lupus nephritis fail to discriminate ISN/RPS class in children. Despite its shortcomings, the SLEDAI-R appears best for measuring lupus nephritis activity in a clinical setting. The SDI-R is a poor correlate of lupus nephritis chronicity.
Project description:ObjectiveTo validate clinical indices of lupus nephritis activity and damage when used in children against the criterion standard of kidney biopsy findings.MethodsIn 83 children requiring kidney biopsy, the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index renal domain (SLEDAI-R), British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index renal domain (BILAG-R), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) renal activity score (SLICC-RAS), and SLICC Damage Index renal domain (SDI-R) were measured. Fixed effects and logistic models were calculated to predict International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) class; low-to-moderate versus high lupus nephritis activity (National Institutes of Health [NIH] activity index [AI]) score: ≤10 versus >10; tubulointerstitial activity index (TIAI) score: ≤5 versus >5; or the absence versus presence of lupus nephritis chronicity (NIH chronicity index) score: 0 versus ≥1.ResultsThere were 10, 50, and 23 patients with ISN/RPS class I/II, III/IV, and V, respectively. Scores of the clinical indices did not differentiate among patients by ISN/RPS class. The SLEDAI-R and SLICC-RAS but not the BILAG-R differed with lupus nephritis activity status defined by NIH-AI scores, while only the SLEDAI-R scores differed between lupus nephritis activity status based on TIAI scores. The sensitivity and specificity of the SDI-R to capture lupus nephritis chronicity was 23.5% and 91.7%, respectively. Despite being designed to measure lupus nephritis activity, SLICC-RAS and SLEDAI-R scores significantly differed with lupus nephritis chronicity status.ConclusionCurrent clinical indices of lupus nephritis fail to discriminate ISN/RPS class in children. Despite its shortcomings, the SLEDAI-R appears best for measuring lupus nephritis activity in a clinical setting. The SDI-R is a poor correlate of lupus nephritis chronicity.
Project description:ImportanceLupus nephritis is typically treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide, which is associated with serious adverse effects. Oral mizoribine may be an alternative for induction therapy of lupus nephritis. However, large-scale, long-term, randomized clinical studies of mizoribine are lacking.ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of oral mizoribine vs intravenous cyclophosphamide as induction therapy for Chinese patients with lupus nephritis.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective, multicenter, parallel-group, open-label, phase 3 randomized clinical trial recruited patients with class III, III+V, IV, IV+V, or V lupus nephritis aged 18 to 70 years from 40 centers in China. Inclusion criteria included 24-hour urinary protein level of 1.0 g or higher and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index of 8 or higher. The first patient was enrolled on November 29, 2014, and the study finished March 14, 2019. The follow-up period was 52 weeks. Data were analyzed from September 4, 2019, to January 21, 2020.InterventionsOral mizoribine (50 mg, 3 times a day) or cyclophosphamide (6 intravenous doses at 0.5-1.0 g/m2 body surface area, with a maximum dose of 1.0 g/d) for 52 weeks plus oral glucocorticoid.Main outcomes and measuresTotal remission rate (complete remission rate plus partial remission rate) after 52 weeks (prespecified).ResultsA total of 250 patients were randomized, and 243 patients (mean [SD] age, 34.6 [10.7] years, 213 women [87.7%]) were treated (123 patients [50.6%] in the mizoribine group and 120 patients [49.4%] in the cyclophosphamide group). The total remission rate at 52 weeks was 66.1% (76 of 115 patients) in the mizoribine group and 76.8% (86 of 112 patients) in the cyclophosphamide group, and the relative risk ratio (mizoribine vs cyclophosphamide) was 0.861 (95% CI, 0.729-1.016). The lower limit of this 2-sided 95% CI was greater than the noninferiority margin of 0.726, indicating that mizoribine was noninferior to cyclophosphamide. Changes in other immune parameters and kidney function were generally similar between the groups. The incidence of any treatment-related treatment-emergent adverse events was 80.5% (99 of 123 patients) in the mizoribine group and 78.7% (96 of 122 patients) in the cyclophosphamide group, and the most frequent adverse event in both groups was upper respiratory tract infection (41 patients [33.3%] and 37 patients [30.3%], respectively).Conclusions and relevanceThis randomized clinical trial shows that compared with intravenous cyclophosphamide, oral mizoribine was noninferior and well tolerated when used with glucocorticoid for induction therapy of active lupus nephritis. Mizoribine can be used as an alternative to intravenous cyclophosphamide as induction therapy for lupus nephritis.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02256150.
Project description:Lupus nephritis (LN) is a frequent and severe manifestation of SLE. Along the decades, the epidemiology of LN and its clinical presentation have been changing. However, even though retrospective cohort studies report a decreased mortality rate and an improvement in the disease prognosis, the percentage of patients progressing into end stage renal disease (ESRD) keeps steady despite the improvements in therapeutic strategies. Current in-use medications have been available for decades now, yet over the years, regimens for optimizing their efficacy and minimizing toxicity have been developed. Therapeutic research is now moving towards the direction of precision medicine and several new drugs, targeting selectively different pathogenetic pathways, are currently under evaluation with promising results. In this review, we address the main changes and persistent unmet needs in LN management throughout the past decades, with a focus on prognosis and upcoming treatments.
Project description:Lupus nephritis (LN) is a frequent and severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. The main goal of the management of LN is to avoid chronic kidney disease (CKD). Current treatment strategies remain unsatisfactory in terms of complete renal response, prevention of relapses, CKD, and progression to end-stage kidney disease. To improve the prognosis of LN, recent data suggest that we should (i) modify our treat-to-target approach by including, in addition to a clinical target, a pathological target and (ii) switch from conventional sequential therapy to combination therapy. Here, we also review the results of recent controlled randomized trials.
Project description:Lupus nephritis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The general consensus is that 60% of lupus patients will develop clinically relevant nephritis at some time in the course of their illness. Prompt recognition and treatment of renal disease is important, as early response to therapy is correlated with better outcome. The present review summarizes our current understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying lupus nephritis and how the disease is currently diagnosed and treated.