The significance and predictive value of free light chains in the urine of patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease

In patients with rheumatic diseases, reliable markers for determining disease activity are scarce. One potential parameter is the level of immunoglobulin free light chains (FLCs), which is known to be elevated in the blood of patients with certain rheumatic diseases. Few studies have quantified FLCs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical rheumatology 2016-12, Vol.35 (12), p.2939-2946
Main Authors: Bramlage, Carsten Paul, Froelich, Britta, Wallbach, Manuel, Minguet, Joan, Grupp, Clemens, Deutsch, Cornelia, Bramlage, Peter, Koziolek, Michael, Müller, Gerhard Anton
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Blood Sedimentation
C-Reactive Protein - metabolism
Female
Humans
Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains - chemistry
Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains - urine
Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains - chemistry
Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains - urine
Inflammation - diagnosis
Inflammation - immunology
Inflammation - urine
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Original Article
Predictive Value of Tests
Retrospective Studies
Rheumatic Diseases - diagnosis
Rheumatic Diseases - immunology
Rheumatic Diseases - urine
Rheumatology
Rituximab - administration & dosage
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Summary:In patients with rheumatic diseases, reliable markers for determining disease activity are scarce. One potential parameter is the level of immunoglobulin free light chains (FLCs), which is known to be elevated in the blood of patients with certain rheumatic diseases. Few studies have quantified FLCs in urine, a convenient source of test sample, in patients with different rheumatic diseases. We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients with rheumatic disease attending the University hospital of Goettingen, Germany. Subjects were included if they had urine levels of both κ and λ FLCs available and did not have myeloma. Data regarding systemic inflammation and kidney function were recorded, and FLC levels were correlated with inflammatory markers. Of the 382 patients with rheumatic disease, 40.1 % had chronic polyarthritis, 21.2 % connective tissue disease, 18.6 % spondyloarthritis and 15.7 % vasculitis. Elevated levels of κ FLCs were found for 84 % of patients and elevated λ for 52.7 %. For the patients with rheumatoid arthritis, FLCs correlated with C-reactive protein ( κ , r  = 0.368, p  
ISSN:0770-3198
1434-9949
DOI:10.1007/s10067-016-3437-0