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Soluble VEGF receptor 1 promotes endothelial injury in children and adolescents with lupus nephritis

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Abstract

Background

Endothelial cell injury plays a key role in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN) and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to identify factors involved in the process of endothelial damage in children and adolescents with LN.

Methods

We evaluated the relationship between plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), its soluble receptors sVEGFR-1 and sVEGFR-2 and markers of endothelial inflammation and injury (angiopoietin-2 and thrombomodulin, respectively) in 23 children and adolescents with LN (active LN, n = 14; inactive LN, n = 9; mean age 15 years) and 20 healthy controls (HC; mean age 12 years).

Results

VEGF, sVEGFR-1, angiopoietin-2 and thrombomodulin levels were significantly higher in children and adolescents with active LN than in patients in remission or HC. In active LN, however, VEGF was inversely related to sVEGFR-1 (r = −0.802, p < 0.001), angiopoietin-2 (r = −0.684, p = 0.007) and thrombomodulin (r = −0.697, p = 0.006). There was a significant positive correlation between sVEGFR-1 and thrombomodulin (r = 0.814, p < 0.0001), but sVEGFR-2 did not significantly differ between the patient groups and did not correlate with thrombomodulin (r = 0.046, p = 0.833).

Conclusions

sVEGFR-1 may play an important role in promoting endothelial damage in children and adolescents with active LN and could possibly be used to monitor disease severity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the OeNB Jubiläumsfonds, Austria (13334) to ME.

Conflict of interest statement

None to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics I, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstr 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Monika Edelbauer, Sudhir Kshirsagar, Magdalena Riedl & Elisabeth Steichen-Gersdorf

  2. Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Heiko Billing & Burkhard Tönshoff

  3. Department of Pediatric Kidney-, Liver- and Metabolic Disease, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Dieter Haffner

  4. Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Uniklinik Köln, Cologne, Germany

    Jörg Dötsch

  5. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria

    Gottfried Wechselberger

  6. Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, Klinikum der Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Lutz T. Weber

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  1. Monika Edelbauer
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  2. Sudhir Kshirsagar
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Correspondence to Monika Edelbauer.

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Edelbauer, M., Kshirsagar, S., Riedl, M. et al. Soluble VEGF receptor 1 promotes endothelial injury in children and adolescents with lupus nephritis. Pediatr Nephrol 27, 793–800 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-011-2062-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-011-2062-z

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