A protein in the brain called NR2A is part of a system that is important for learning and memory. Lupus patients can make antibodies to NR2A and some, but not all, studies have suggested that there might be a relationship between these antibodies and lupus brain inflammation (also known as neuropsychiatric lupus or NPSLE). The researchers studied the relationship between anti-NR2A antibodies and different aspects of lupus, especially whether there might be a relationship between these antibodies and NPSLE in patients from Japan.
People inherit DNA from their parents and it contains the blueprints for making all of the proteins in the body. RNA is the translating material which helps in the conversion of these blueprints into functioning proteins. MicroRNAs are small pieces of RNA that help to regulate the extent to which instructions for making specific proteins can be used for that purpose. Specific blueprints can be “turned off” by microRNAs so that some proteins won’t be made. The role of microRNAs in lupus has recently been studied. Specific microRNAs have been identified in lupus patients and in some patients who have kidney involvement (lupus nephritis). In this study, the researchers hoped to learn whether people with lupus kidney involvement from different races shared the same set of microRNAs.
Current treatments for lupus nephritis in children are toxic and sometimes ineffective. New tests for proteins that might be abnormal in lupus nephritis could help make the diagnosis earlier (when treatments have a better chance to work more quickly) and might also point to new ways of treating the disease (possibly with fewer side effects). In this study, the researchers hoped to find new tests for lupus nephritis in children.
Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) is difficult to diagnose and can be present when
disease activity in other organs cannot be identified. The researchers hoped to
learn whether antibodies to ganglioside M1, a fat found throughout the brain,
could predict childhood NPSLE any better than standard laboratory measures
currently in use. At the time of initial evaluation (and before NPSLE
developed), 83% and 50% of children who later developed NPSLE had
anti-ganglioside M1 and anti-ribosomal P antibodies, respectively. None of the
18 patients who did not develop NPSLE had either one of these antibodies. This
study suggests that anti-ganglioside M1 antibodies might help to predict NPSLE
in children with lupus, especially when paired with anti-ribosomal P antibodies.