Assessment of CXCL5 Level in SLE Patients and Its Correlation with Disease Activity

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common autoimmune disease involving multiple organs and systems. SLE is characterized by the production of a large number of autoantibodies and the deposition of various immune complexes in target tissue .(1,2).

Chemokines are a large family of small secreted proteins that are identified as attractants of different types of leukocytes, including neutrophils, to sites of infection and inflammation. They are produced locally in tissues and act through interaction with specific G protein-coupled receptors that are predominantly expressed on leukocytes(3,4,5). Interaction between chemokines and their receptor plays an essential role in the development and homeostasis of the immune system as well as inflammatory response (6) . Although most chemokines promote locomotion of immune cells, some of them might inhibit leukocyte migration under certain circumstances (7).

We found in a study that serum CXCL5 levels were significantly lower in SLE patients than in healthy individuals and were negatively correlated with disease activity. By administering CXCL5 intravenously in a mouse model of lupus, mouse survival improved, and indices of disease activity reduced significantly(8,9). This finding suggests that homeostatic chemokines in peripheral blood might play an anti- inflammatory role and that serum levels of anti- inflammatory chemokines such as CXCL5 would be decreased in patients with autoimmune diseases (7) .

So in this study, we aim to determine level of CXCL5 in SLE patients , association of chemokine levels with demographics, clinical, and laboratory investigations of patients and its correlation with disease activity (7).