Relationship between Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and lupus nephritis

Objective To evaluate the Wnt/βcatenin signaling biomarkers in lupus nephritis (LN) patients. Methods Eighteen patients with lupus nephritis in Lanzhou University Second Hospital from 2015 to 2016 were included, and 19 healthy people served as normal control group. The expression of Wnt1, β-cateninand DKK1 mRNA was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and their plasma concentrations were determined by ELISA. Results There was no significant difference in plasma levels and mRNA expression of Wnt1, β-catenin and DKK-1 between LN group and normal control group.Theserum level of β-catenin was significantly higher in no responsive LN patients than in responsive ones (P<0.05).Conclusions Biomarkers in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway may be valuable for identification of responses for LN therapy.