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Basophil count, a marker for disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

Clinical Rheumatology volume 34, pages 891–896 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease, with frequent flares amid remissions. Basophils contribute to the immunopathogenesis of SLE. This retrospective clinical study evaluated blood basophil count as a potential marker of SLE activity. This study included 213 patients with SLE, 70 with non-SLE chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 100 healthy volunteers. SLE disease activity was scored using the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Baseline and post-immunosuppressant bioparameters were compared in patients with active SLE, with second samples taken at total SLEDAI ≤4. Blood basophil counts and other conventional biomarkers were compared among the groups. Among the 213 SLE patients (192 women, 21 men; mean age 33.0 ± 12.0 years), 149 had active disease. Basophil counts were significantly lower in patients with SLE than in patients with non-SLE CKD and healthy controls (0.009 ± 0.010 vs. 0.025 ± 0.015 vs. 0.022 ± 0.010 × 109/L, p <0.001), and lower in patients with active than inactive SLE (0.008 ± 0.009 vs. 0.014 ± 0.012 × 109/L, p <0.001). Basophil counts in SLE patients were significantly higher after than before immunosuppressive treatment (0.021 ± 0.017 vs. 0.008 ± 0.008 × 109/L, p <0.001) and correlated with total SLEDAI score (r = −0.30, p <0.001). Receiver operator curve analysis showed that basophil counts were similar to conventional markers (leukocytes, platelets, and double-stranded (ds) DNA IgG) in differentiating active from inactive SLE. These findings indicate that blood basophil counts may be a useful biomarker in evaluating SLE activity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Guangdong Natural Science Funds (S2012010009667).

Disclosures

Peifen Liang, Ying Tang, Sha Fu, Jun Lv, Bo Liu, Min Feng, Jinggao Li, Deyuan Lai, Xia Wan, and Anping Xu have nothing to disclose.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Nephrology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Peifen Liang, Ying Tang, Sha Fu, Jun Lv, Bo Liu, Min Feng, Jinggao Li, Deyuan Lai, Xia Wan & Anping Xu

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  1. Peifen Liang
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  2. Ying Tang
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Correspondence to Anping Xu.

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Peifen Liang and Anping Xu contributed equally to this paper.

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Liang, P., Tang, Y., Fu, S. et al. Basophil count, a marker for disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Rheumatol 34, 891–896 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2822-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2822-9

Keywords

  • Basophil counts
  • Disease activity
  • Marker
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus