Observational studyLupus science & medicine2023
Microvascular C5b-9 deposition in non-lesional skin in patients with SLE and its correlation with active lupus nephritis: a prospective observational study.
Observational study in Lupus science & medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics implicate vascular cell orchestration of inflammatory changes after UV light exposure in skin.The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTissue damage in lupus nephritis (LN) is mediated by activation of the classical complement pathway. Complement-mediated upregulation of endothelial cell adhesion molecules is seen in dermal blood vessels of non-lesional skin of patients with active lupus. In diseases with systemic complement activation, extensive microvascular C5b-9 deposition is seen in non-lesional skin. In this study, we assess the presence of systemic complement pathway activation as determined by non-lesional skin microvascular C5b-9 deposition in patients with LN.
methodsEight patients with active LN and eight patients without active LN underwent non-lesional skin biopsies. Using a diaminobenzidine technique, specimens were evaluated for microvascular C5b-9 consistent with systemic complement pathway activation.
resultsFive of eight patients with active LN and one of eight patients without active LN demonstrated positive C5b-9 staining in non-lesional skin (p=0.04). Positive non-lesional C5b-9 staining has greater specificity, 87.5%, for active LN than pyuria, low complements, elevated double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and proteinuria. Urine protein creatinine ratio was significantly higher in patients with positive non-lesional C5b-9 deposition (5.18 vs 1.20; p=0.04). C5b-9 deposition was not associated with a higher NIH Activity Index, interstitial fibrosis, dsDNA or lower complements.
conclusionThis is the first study to demonstrate evidence in non-lesional skin of microvascular C5b-9 indicative of systemic complement pathway activation in LN. C5b-9 deposition is statistically more common and demonstrated greater specificity than most historical biomarkers for active LN. The findings support a potential role for microvascular C5b-9 assessment in non-lesional skin as a biomarker for LN activity.
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