TYPE I INTERFERON GENES SIGNATURE AND GALECTINS-1,3,9: ARE THERE A RELATIONSHIPS?

PV032 / #459 Poster Topic: AS04 - Biomarkers Background/Purpose To find out whether galectins-1,3,9 levels are related to the type I interferon genes signature (IFNGS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods A total of 43 patients (38 women and 5 men) with SLE (31[23-41] years old) were enrolled in the study. The median SLE duration was 24 [1-96] months, SLEDAI-2K was 8 [4-14]. SLE pts were treated with glucocorticoids (GC) (72,12%), hydroxychloroquine (69,8%), immunosuppressive drugs (35,9%) and biological agents (4,7%). Type I interferon status was assessed as «low» or «high» by the average expression of interferon-inducible 3 selected genes (MX1, RSAD2, EPSTI1) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. IFNGS was considered «high» if the average genes expression value in patients exceeded that in donors (20 healthy donors comparable in sex and age with the SLE patients). Serum galectins-1,3,9 levels were determined by enzyme—linked immunosorbent assay (Cloud-Clone Corp., China). Results «High» IFNGS was detected in 33 of 43 patients with SLE. Patients with «high» and «low» INFGS did not differ in age, gender, disease duration, SLE activity according to SLEDAI-2K (p>0,05 for all). Galectins-1 and 3 levels were comparable in patients with «high» and «low» IFNGS, but the galectin-9 levels were higher in patients with elevated gene expression (Table 1). Table 1. Galectins levels depending on IFNGS status in patients with SLE Conclusions The serum concentrations of galectin-9, but not galectins-1 and 3, depend on interferon-inducible genes expression in SLE patients. Increased galectin-9 may be a surrogate serological biomarker of elevated type I interferon status.