Association of soluble TREM-like transcript-1 with clinical features and patient reported outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Objective: The soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1)-like transcript 1 (sTLT-1) has a modulatory effect on the activation of TREM-1. We compared plasma sTLT-1 levels betweenpatients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy individuals and determined the as-sociation between sTLT-1 levels and clinical features and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) amongpatients with lupus.Methods: An unmatched case-control study was conducted in 46 patients with SLE and 28 healthysubjects. sTLT-1 plasma levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. De-mographic factors, SLE manifestations, comorbidities, pharmacologic profile, disease activity (perSLAM-R), damage accrual, and PROs (as per Lupus Patient-Reported Outcome [LupusPRO]) werestudied.Results: Patients with SLE were found to have lower sTLT-1 levels compared with healthy individuals(9.0±7.2 vs. 18.6±22.3 pg/mL, p=0.008). Among patients with SLE, higher sTLT-1 levels were foundin those taking corticosteroids (11.1±8.8 vs. 6.9±4.6 pg/mL, p=0.014). Significant correlations werefound for the cognition (r=-0.442, p=0.027) and desires/goals (r=0.435, p=0.030) domains of Lupus-PRO. A tendency was observed between sTLT-1 levels and the SLAM-R (r=-0.278, p=0.064) and thelupus symptoms (r=-0.388, p=0.055) and physical health (r=-0.382, p=0.060) domains of LupusPRO.Conclusion: Compared with healthy individuals, sTLT-1 levels were significantly lower in patients withSLE. Among patients with SLE, correlations were observed for some domains of LupusPRO. Given thatsTLT-1 has anti-inflammatory properties, the deficiency of this protein could play an important role inthe pathogenesis of SLE.