Urine chemokines: biomarkers of human lupus nephritis?

Lupus nephritis is characterized by intrarenal inflammation. Leukocytes trafficking from peripheral blood into affected tissues spaces represent an important factor in the development of many renal diseases. During the past few years has been attributed the crucial role of a family of chemotactic cytokines--the chemokines--in this process. In the course of renal diseases, the infiltration of monocytes/macrophages and T cells into kidneys represent an important role in progressive interstitial fibrosis and the progression of chronic renal failure. In this review, we summarize the in vitro and in vivo data on chemokines and chemokine receptors in kidney diseases, with a special focus on urine chemokine measurement as possible biomarker of human lupus nephritis.