Introduction: Lupus nephritis is a serious organ involvement with unknown etiology, and glomerulonephritis class IV is one of the most severe forms of the disease which correlates with poor prognosis and death. Immunological abnormalities are implicated in the expression of lupus nephritis. In this study, we examined some T helper 17 and regulatory T-related cytokines and molecules in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with glomerulonephritis class IV.
Materials and methods: The study group comprised of 20 glomerulonephritis class IV SLE patients and 20 sex- and age-matched SLE patients without kidney involvement as control group. Blood samples was collected from each participant, lymphocytes were isolated, and RNA was extracted from lymphocytes. Then cDNA was synthesized using reverse transcription enzyme, and finally using specific primers and probes, the expression levels of forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-17 genes were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction based on the TaqMan method.
Results: The expression levels of IL-6, IL-17, IFN-γ, and Foxp3 genes were significantly higher in SLE patients with glomerulonephritis class IV than those with non-nephritis SLE. However, the expression of TGF-β was not significantly different between the SLE patients with and without glomerulonephritis class IV involvement.
Conclusions: According to our results, it seems that in class IV glomerulonephritis patients, increased Foxp3-producing regulatory T cells has an imperfect capacity to control the pathogenic IL-17- and IFN-γ-producing cells.