Objectives: Increasing studies have indicated the association between adipokines and multiple autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the mRNA expression levels of vaspin, adiponectin and adrenomedullin in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as their clinical associations.
Methods: A total of 46 SLE patients and 51 normal controls were recruited. The three adipokines expression levels in PBMCs from SLE patients were measured by qRT-PCR, and their associations with major clinical and laboratory parameters of SLE patients were also analysed.
Results: Compared with normal controls, vaspin expression level in PBMCs was significantly decreased (p<0.001), whereas adiponectin expression level was significantly higher in SLE patients (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in adrenomedullin expression level between SLE patients and normal controls. Vaspin and adrenomedullin expression levels in more active SLE were significantly lower than those in less active SLE (p=0.012, p=0.046, respectively). No significant difference in these adipokine expression levels was observed between SLE patients with and without lupus nephritis (LN). There was also no significant association between mRNA levels of these adipokines and major clinical and laboratory parameters.
Conclusions: Altered vaspin, adiponectin expression levels, and the associations between vaspin, adrenomedullin levels and disease activity in SLE patients suggested that these adipokines might play a role in SLE.