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Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Analyses of Proteinuria, Renal Infiltration of Leukocytes, and Renal Deposition of Proteins in Lupus-prone MRL/lpr Mice
Published on: June 8, 2022
Potential biomarkers for active renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus patients
Lu Xiao1, Wei Xiao2, Shudian Lin1
1Department of Rheumatology, Hainan General Hospital, Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
Objective:
This study aimed to identify the key genes related to active renal involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods:
Microarray datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between SLE patients with active renal involvement and those who did not have active renal involvement were identified by R software. Hub genes were identified using protein-protein interaction networks. The relationships between the expression levels of identified hub genes and SLEDAI were subjected to linear correlation analysis. The diagnostic accuracy of the hub genes was evaluated with the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC). Transcription factors (TFs) were predicted. The expression levels of different hub genes and histopathological patterns were also examined.
Results:
A total of 182 DEGs were identified. Enrichment analysis indicated that DEGs were primarily enriched in neutrophil degranulation, neutrophil activation involved in immune response and neutrophil activation. The expression levels of 12 identified hub genes were verified. Ten of the 12 hub genes were positively associated with SLEDAI. The combination model of DEFA4, CTSG, RETN, CEACAM8, TOP2A, LTF, MPO, ELANE, BIRC5, and LCN2 had a certain diagnostic accuracy in detecting renal involvement with high disease activity in SLE patients. The expressions of five predicted TFs were validated by GSE65391 dataset.
Conclusion:
This work explored the pathogenesis of renal involvement in SLE. These results may guide future experimental research and clinical transformation.
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