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Abstract: FR-PO587

Serum Sulfatide Level as a Marker for Differentiation and Activity Assessment in Renal Vasculitis Diseases

Session Information

Category: Glomerular Diseases

  • 1302 Glomerular Diseases: Immunology and Inflammation

Authors

  • Aomura, Daiki, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  • Harada, Makoto, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  • Nimura, Takayuki, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  • Yamada, Yosuke, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  • Hashimoto, Koji, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  • Kamijo, Yuji, Shinshu Daigaku Igakubu Fuzoku Byoin, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

Group or Team Name

  • Department of Nephrology at Shinshu University school of medicine
Background

Sulfatides are glycosphingolipids associated with coagulation and platelet aggregation, suggesting a possible involvement in renal vasculitis (RV). However, research on this notion is extremely limited, with only one study on a small population of healthy individuals and patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) revealing serum sulfatide (SS) level as a possible differentiation marker in AAV, especially with active crescentic findings on kidney biopsy. To further assess the association between SS and RV, we performed a retrospective study with a larger sample size including several RV diseases.

Methods

This cross-sectional investigation included patients admitted to the Nephrology Department of Shinshu University Hospital (Japan) after April 2008. Patients who were firstly diagnosed as having IgA vasculitis (IgAV), AAV, or anti-GBM disease (GBM) were included. As controls, donor candidates for living kidney transplantation (donors) were analyzed as well. SS levels were analyzed using stored frozen serum samples.

Results

The mean±standard deviation SS levels of donors (n=23), IgAV (n=26), AAV (n=64), and GBM (n=10) were 8.30±1.68, 6.14±1.59, 5.30±2.02, and 2.72±0.94 nmol/mL, respectively. Regarding associations with kidney biopsy findings, SS levels were significantly higher in patients with a higher crescentic score (Oxford classification) in IgAV. In contrast, SS levels were significantly lower in patients with a crescent-type phenotype (Berden classification) in AAV and negatively correlated with the percentage of glomeruli with cellular crescents in GBM (r=-0.76, p=0.02). Those associations of active pathological findings with SS level were stronger than with other possible markers including serum C-reactive protein level in all RV groups.

Conclusion

SS level is a possible marker for differentiation and activity assessment in RV diseases.