Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 11, 2026
Analyses of Proteinuria, Renal Infiltration of Leukocytes, and Renal Deposition of Proteins in Lupus-prone MRL/lpr Mice
Published on: June 8, 2022
Urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 as a biomarker of lupus nephritis activity in children
Emad E Ghobrial1, Azza A El Hamshary, Ashraf G Mohamed
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Insights
Urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) effectively aids in diagnosing and monitoring lupus nephritis (LN) activity in children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Elevated urinary MCP-1 levels correlate with disease severity and kidney involvement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Nephrology
- Immunology
Background:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe autoimmune disease impacting multiple organs, with lupus nephritis (LN) being a critical complication, particularly in children.
- Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays a role in kidney inflammation in lupus models.
- Early diagnosis and monitoring of LN activity are crucial for managing pediatric SLE.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) for the early diagnosis and assessment of lupus nephritis (LN) activity in children.
- To compare urinary and serum MCP-1 levels in children with SLE, active LN, inactive LN, and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum and urinary MCP-1 levels.
- Study included 60 children: 15 with SLE without nephritis, 15 with active LN, 15 with inactive LN, and 15 healthy controls.
- Correlations between urinary MCP-1 and disease activity indices (SLEDAI), proteinuria, renal function markers, and hemoglobin were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Urinary MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in active LN compared to inactive LN and controls.
- Inactive LN also showed significantly higher urinary MCP-1 than SLE without nephritis and controls.
- Urinary MCP-1 levels correlated positively with SLE disease activity (SLEDAI), proteinuria, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine, and negatively with hemoglobin and creatinine clearance.
Conclusions:
- Urinary MCP-1 is a valuable biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring renal involvement severity in pediatric SLE patients.
- Measuring urinary MCP-1 is recommended for early detection of LN activity and assessing kidney disease progression in children with SLE.
Abstract:
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a life-long, life-limiting and multi-systemic autoimmune disease. Glomerulonephritis is one of the most serious manifestations of SLE. Younger children have an increased incidence, severity and morbidity of lupus nephritis (LN) compared with adult-onset disease. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) enhances leukocyte adhesiveness and endothelial permeability in the kidneys of murine and human LN models. Our study aimed to assess the role of urinary MCP-1 in the early diagnosis of LN activity. Sixty children, of whom 45 children aged from six to 12 years old and of both sexes (15 SLE patients without nephritis, 15 active LN and 15 inactive LN) fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for SLE were studied in comparison with 15 healthy subjects. We investigated the serum and urinary MCP-1 in all groups using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Urinary MCP-1 was significantly higher in active LN in comparison with inactive LN and controls, and also significantly higher in inactive LN in comparison with SLE without nephritis and controls. There was also a significant difference between SLE without nephritis and controls. Serum MCP-1 was significantly higher in the group with active LN in comparison with the inactive group and SLE without nephritis and controls, but there was no significant difference between SLE and controls. The urinary MCP-1 level correlated well with SLE disease activity as measured by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Urinary MCP-1 correlates positively with proteinuria, blood urea nitrogen level and creatinine and negatively with hemoglobin and creatinine clearance. We concluded that measurement of MCP-1 in urine may be useful for monitoring the severity of renal involvement in SLE. We recommend measuring urinary MCP-1 in pediatric SLE for the early diagnosis of LN and for the evaluation of the severity of renal involvement.
