Nefrite

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Clinical and Developmental Immunology Volume 2012, Article ID 967584, 7 pages doi:10.1155/2012/967584

Clinical Study Association of Intrarenal B-Cell Infiltrates with Clinical Outcome in Lupus Nephritis: A Study of 192 Cases
Yan Shen,1 Chuan-Yin Sun,1 Feng-Xia Wu,1 Yi Chen,1 Min Dai,1 Yu-Cheng Yan,2 and Cheng-De Yang1
1 Department

of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 145 Shan Dong Zhong Road, Shanghai 200001, China 2 Department of Nephrology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 145 Shan Dong Zhong Road, Shanghai 200001, China Correspondence should be addressed to Cheng-De Yang, [e-mail] Received 4 February 2012; Revised 25 April 2012; Accepted 25 April 2012 Academic Editor: Harris Perlman Copyright © 2012 Yan Shen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Lupus nephritis (LN) remains a major cause of morbidity and end-stage renal disease. Dysfunction of B lymphocytes is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of SLE/LN. Intrarenal B cells have been found in several forms of inflammatory kidney diseases although their role in LN renal is not well defined. Methods. Intrarenal B cells were analyzed in 192 renal biopsies from patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis. Immunohistochemical staining of serial sections was performed for each LN patient using CD20, CD3, and CD21 antibodies. Results. Intrarenal B cells were more likely to be associated with class IV LN and were mainly distributed in the renal interstitium, with very few in the glomerulus. The systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI), blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine levels were all significantly greater in the LN-B cell groups (all P < 0.05). LN renal activity and