Objectives: The objective of the study is to investigate the relationships between Type 1 interferon (T1-IFN) signatures and clinical characteristics of lupus patients.
Methods: We examined 49 new-onset lupus patients who were diagnosed between 1999 and 2017. The patients treated with >10 mg of prednisolone or hydroxychloroquine were excluded from this study. Serum T1-IFN signatures were revealed by a functional reporter assay and standardized by recombinant IFN-α. Patient backgrounds, clinical findings, and treatments were retrospectively extracted from their electrical medical records. Clinical data were also available, including SLE Disease Activity Index of SLE patients on admission.
Results: T1-IFN signatures of lupus patients closely correlated with lupus disease activities, such as SLE Disease Activity Index-2K, white blood cell, C3 levels, and the titre of double-strand DNA antibody. We found fever and acute lupus dermatitis closely associated with T1-IFN signature.
Conclusions: In lupus patients, fever and acute lupus dermatitis are good indicators of a strong T1-IFN signature.
Keywords: IFN; SLE; Type 1 IFN signature; anifrolumab; lupus.
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