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Serum RGC-32 in children with systemic lupus erythematosus
Bingxue Huang1, Dan Feng1, Xiaoling Niu1
1Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Immunology, Shanghai Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
Insights
Serum RGC-32 is elevated in children with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This protein may serve as a valuable biomarker for diagnosing and evaluating SLE activity in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatric Rheumatology
Background:
- Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) often presents with greater severity compared to adult-onset SLE.
- Early diagnosis and accurate disease assessment are critical for managing pediatric SLE.
- The complement system, particularly the terminal C5b-9 complex, is implicated in SLE pathogenesis, with RGC-32 (Response gene to complement-32) as a downstream regulator.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical significance of serum RGC-32 levels in children diagnosed with SLE.
- To determine if RGC-32 can serve as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in pediatric SLE.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples were collected from 40 children with SLE and 40 age-matched healthy controls.
- Serum RGC-32 levels were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
- Clinical data, including disease activity and inflammatory markers, were prospectively recorded.
Main Results:
- Serum RGC-32 levels were significantly higher in children with SLE compared to healthy controls.
- Elevated RGC-32 levels were observed in patients with moderate to severe SLE activity versus those with mild or no activity.
- Serum RGC-32 showed positive correlations with C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and ferritin, and negative correlations with white blood cell count and C3.
Conclusions:
- RGC-32 is significantly elevated in children with SLE and its levels correlate with disease activity.
- RGC-32 shows potential as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and evaluation of childhood-onset SLE.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the precise role of RGC-32 in SLE pathogenesis.
Abstract:
Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can be more severe than adult patients. Early diagnosis and accurate evaluation of the disease are very important for the patients. Response gene to complement-32 (RGC-32) protein is the downstream regulator of C5b-9 complex which is the terminal pathway of complement activation. Complement system plays a very important role in the pathogenesis of SLE. RGC-32 in patients with SLE has not been reported yet. We aimed to examine the clinical value of RGC-32 in children with SLE. A total of 40 children with SLE and another 40 healthy children were enrolled for this study. Clinical data were obtained prospectively. Serum RGC-32 was determined by ELISA. We found that serum RGC-32 was significantly elevated in children with SLE than that in the healthy group. Serum RGC-32 was significantly higher in the children with moderately/severely active SLE than that in the children with no/mildly active SLE. Furthermore, serum RGC-32 level correlated positively with C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and ferritin and correlated negatively with white blood cell counts and C3. RGC-32 may be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. RGC-32 might become a good biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of SLE.
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