Primate Monocytes - CD14, CD16 - Ziegler-Heitbrock

Intermediate monocytes in blood correlate with subclinical vascular changes in lupus nephritis.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)-­ related mortality is higher in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) compared with those without nephritis (11.7 vs 3.6 per 100 patient-­ years).1 Accelerated atheroscle- rosis risk in LN cannot be fully explained by traditional risk factors. Many hypothe- sise that dysregulated cytokine profiles and altered cellular subsets may trigger endothe- lial dysfunction and plaque destabilisation, accelerating atherosclerosis risk in LN.2 We recently established that moderate-­ severe renal arteriosclerosis (ASCL) in kidney biop- sies is a marker of premature endothelial dysfunction in LN and is associated with three times higher 10-­ year clinical ASCVD occur- rence, underscoring its role as potential proxy for clinical ASCVD.3 Yet, long-­ term moni- toring of renal ASCL is difficult, as it requires baseline and repeat invasive kidney biopsies. Therefore, a cellular surrogate biomarker of renal vascular changes that may predict clin- ical ASCVD risk is needed in LN.