Relationship between interstitial CD34 positive cells and active phase of lupus nephritis

Abstract

Objective: Lupus nephritis is one of the most serious and common complications of systemic lupuserythematosus. It has an unpredictable course, and the type, severity, and activity of renal lesionscannot be assessed only by clinical and laboratory findings. The aim of the present study was todetermine the relationship between the expression of CD34 and the histopathological findings oflupus nephritis.Methods: A total of 73 renal biopsy samples of patients with a diagnosis of lupus nephritis were ex-amined for CD34 expression by immunohistochemistry. Samples without staining were consideredas 0, mild staining as 1+, moderate as 2+, and strong staining as 3+. The relationship between CD34expression and histopathological and clinical data (including activity index, chronicity index, lupusnephritis class, age, sex, blood pressure, complete blood count, renal function tests, and serologicalfindings) was analyzed.Results: The mean age of the patients was 29.3±11.3 years. CD34 was expressed in all of the cases butwith different intensities. There was a significant relationship between the expression of CD34 and theactivity index, as a strong expression was seen in lower activity indices (p