The Lectin Pathway of the Complement System Is Activated in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Anne Troldborg^1,2, Steffen Thiel³, Marten Trendelenburg⁴, Justa Friebus-Kardash⁵, Josephine Nehring⁵, Rudi Steffensen⁶, Søren Werner Karlskov Hansen⁷, Magdalena Janina Laska¹, Bent Deleuran⁸, Jens Christian Jensenius¹, Anne Voss⁹ and Kristian Stengaard-Pedersen¹⁰, ¹Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, ²clinical medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, ³Institute of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DK, Aarhus, Denmark, ⁴Department of Biomedicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Basel, Switzerland, ⁵University Hospital Basel, Division of Internal Medicine, Basel, Switzerland, ⁶Department of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark, ⁷Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Souther Denmark, Odense, Denmark, ⁸Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, ⁹Rheumatology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark, ¹⁰Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

Meeting: 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 18, 2017

Keywords: complement, innate immunity, pathogenesis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 6, 2017

Title: Innate Immunity and Rheumatic Disease Poster II

Session Type: ACR Poster Session B

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:

The pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) involves complement activation. It is well established that activation of complement through the classical pathway (CP) and deficiencies of this pathway are associated with SLE. Our knowledge about the Lectin Pathway (LP) of complement activation in relation to SLE is very limited. Since the LP is also activated through pattern recognition of, i.e., intracellular components and apoptotic cells, we hypothesize that this pathway is also activated in SLE and could have similar implications as the CP in the development of SLE.

Methods:

We examined the 11 known LP proteins in a large well-defined SLE cohort of 372 SLE patients and 170 controls. We estimated LP protein concentrations using in house developed time resolved immuno-flourometric assays (TRIFMA). We assessed if changes in concentrations were associated with complement activation and disease activity based on C3 measurements. To follow the protein concentrations over time in relation to disease activity, a cohort of 52 SLE patients followed for five years with repeated blood samples were additionally included.

Results:

Concentrations of the LP proteins were altered in a specific pattern in this cross sectional SLE cohort compared with the controls. The differences in LP proteins observed between patients and controls were associated with complement activation and disease activity based on C3 measurements and SLEDAI. M-ficolin, CL-L1, CL-K1, MASP-3 and MAp19 showed a significant negative correlation with disease activity. When followed over time the concentrations of several LP proteins correlated with SLEDAI and particularly the serine protease, MASP-2, increased with SLE disease activity.

Conclusion:

In this large SLE cohort, specific changes in LP proteins were associated with complement activation and disease activity, indicating that the LP is activated in patients with SLE. These novel findings substantiate the involvement of the LP of complement activation in the complex pathogenesis of SLE.

Disclosure: A. Troldborg, None; S. Thiel, None; M. Trendelenburg, None; J. Friebus-Kardash, None; J. Nehring, None; R. Steffensen, None; S. W. Karlskov Hansen, None; M. J. Laska, None; B. Deleuran, Otezla, 2; J. C. Jensenius, None; A. Voss, None; K. Stengaard-Pedersen, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Troldborg A, Thiel S, Trendelenburg M, Friebus-Kardash J, Nehring J, Steffensen R, Karlskov Hansen SW, Laska MJ, Deleuran B, Jensenius JC, Voss A, Stengaard-Pedersen K. The Lectin Pathway of the Complement System Is Activated in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-lectin-pathway-of-the-complement-system-is-activated-in-patients-with-systemic-lupus-erythematosus/. Accessed .

« Back to 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-lectin-pathway-of-the-complement-system-is-activated-in-patients-with-systemic-lupus-erythematosus/