The relationship between osteopontin and macrophage infiltration in renal tissues of patients with lupus nephritis

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of osteopontin (OPN) and the infiltration of macrophages in renal tissues of patients with lupus nephritis (LN), and provide the evidence for the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis. Methods The expression of OPN and the infiltration of macrophages (CD68+ cells) in the renal tissue of 60 LN patients and 10 normal controls were detected by immunohistoche-mical method. Statistical analysis was used to analyze the correlation between variables. Results ① Compared with the normal control group (5.3±1.8), the number of macrophages infiltrated inthe renal tissue of LN patients was significantly increased [(52.3±7.3) vs (26.1±7.2), F=105.20, P<0.05]. ② Compared with the normal control group, the expression of OPN in LN patients was significantly increased, and the expression level of OPN in active patients was significantly higher than that in the inactive group [(23.5±4.5) vs (13.3±2.9), (21.5±3.7) vs (27.0±2.4), F=28.65, P<0.05]. ③ There was a significant positive correlation between macrophage infiltration and renal OPN expres-sion in renal tissue of LN patients (r=0.610, P<0.01) . Conclusion The high expression of OPN is an im-portant mediator of macrophage infiltration in the process of lupus nephritis development, which may be one of the potential mechanisms of lupus nephritis. Key words: Lupus nephritis; Osteopontin; Macrophage