Biomarkers for Lupus Nephritis: A Critical Appraisal

Table 2

Urine biomarkers that correlate with lupus nephritis activity in cross-sectional studies.

Authors, year	Biomarkers studied	Main findings
Kiani et al., 2009 [13]	Urine osteoprotegerin (OPG)	OPG strongly associated with renal activity descriptors of the SELENA SLEDAI; medium/high levels of OPG predictive of a urine protein/creatinine ratio of ≥0.5
Wang et al., 2009 [73]	FOXP3 mRNA expression in urinary sediments	FOXP3 mRNA expression significantly higher in active than inactive lupus nephritis, and in proliferative than nonproliferative nephritis, FOXP3 mRNA level correlated with proteinuria and histological activity index; persistent elevation associated with poor treatment response
Dhaun et al., 2009 [74]	Urine endothelin-1	Fractional excretion of endothelin-1 and urinary endothelin-1/creatinine ratio higher in lupus nephritis than other chronic inflammatory renal diseases when renal function is normal
Enghard et al., 2009 [75]	Urine CXCR3+CD4+T cells	Urinary CXCR3+CD4+ T cells are enriched in lupus nephritis and correlated with SLE disease activity; higher concentration of urinary CXCR3+CD4+ T cells is found in active than inactive nephritis
Tucci et al., 2008 [65]	Serum and urine IL-12	Glomerular expression of IL-12 predominantly occurs in class IV and V lupus nephritis; serum and urine IL-12 higher in lupus nephritis than nonrenal SLE
Wu et al., 2007 [76]	Urine VCAM-1, P-selectin, TNFR-1, and CXCL16	Urinary VCAM-1, P-selectin, TNFR-1, and CXCL16 elevated in lupus nephritis, correlating with proteinuria and SLE disease activity scores; urinary VCAM-1 and CXCL16 showed superior specificity and sensitivity in distinguishing subjects with active renal disease from the other SLE patients.
Hammad et al., 2006 [77]	Urine TGF𝛽-1	Urinary TGF𝛽-1 level significantly higher in active than silent lupus nephritis, correlated with anti-dsDNA and C3 levels
Chan et al., 2004 [78]	TGF𝛽 and MCP-1 mRNA expression in urine sediments	Urinary TGF𝛽 and MCP-1 mRNA expression correlated with histological activity index on renal biopsy