BAFF is elevated in serum of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis

Markus Krumbholz, Ulrich Specks, Manfred Wick, Susan L. Kalled, Dieter Jenne, Edgar Meinl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

120 Scopus citations

Abstract

BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) plays a crucial role in B-cell survival. Elevated BAFF serum levels have been linked to several autoimmune diseases in humans, and therapies targeting BAFF were successful in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Wagener's granulomatosis (WG), a chronic systemic vasculitis, is characterized by circulating autoantibodies (cANCA) targeting neutrophils, which can produce BAFF. To investigate whether BAFF is involved in WG pathology, BAFF serum levels were measured by ELISA in 46 WG patients and 62 healthy donors. We report the novel finding that in WG patients serum levels of BAFF were significantly increased (median 3.95 ng/ml, p = 0.009) compared to healthy controls (median 2.38 ng/ml). The difference was even more pronounced when comparing controls with untreated WG patients (median 4.61 ng/ml, p = 0.001). Treatment of WG patients with glucocorticoids was associated with lower BAFF levels. The serum BAFF level in treated WG patients was about the same as in the control group. We propose that BAFF might be a pathogenic factor in WG and that targeting BAFF may represent a new therapeutic strategy in a subset of chronically relapsing WG patients with elevated BAFF levels.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)298-302
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Autoimmunity
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2005

Keywords

  • Autoantibody
  • B-cell activating factor of TNF family (BAFF)
  • Human
  • Serum
  • Wegener's granulomatosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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