OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of fractalkine (FKN) in the blood and renal tissues of patients with lupus nephritis and explore its significance.

METHODSAccording to the pathological classification, 48 patients with lupus nephritis were divided into mild group (22 cases) and severe group (26 cases), with 26 healthy subjects as the control group. RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were employed to detect the expression of FKN mRNA and protein in the blood of the subjects, and FKN expression and localization in the renal tissue of the patients with lupus nephritis were detected using immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTSThe patients in both the mild and severe groups showed significantly increased expression of blood FKN mRNA and protein compared with the normal controls, and the increase was more obvious in severe cases (P<0.01). In the renal tissues of the patients, FKN was located mainly in the cytoplasm of the glomerular podocytes and renal tubular epithelial, and the number of positive glomerular cells number was significantly greater in severe cases than in the mild cases (P<0.01); FKN expression in the cortical interstitium did not show a significant difference between the 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONFKN expression in the blood and glomeruli of patients with lupus nephritis is related to the severity of renal pathologies.