Cytokine Profiling in Chinese SLE Patients: Correlations with Renal Dysfunction.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that commonly causes kidney damage. Therefore, we measured plasma levels of cytokines that may be related to renal dysfunction in SLE patients.

Methods: To explore the differences between SLE patients with renal dysfunction and healthy volunteers, the levels of cytokines in plasma were screened using a human cytokine antibody array.