Biomarkers related to disease activity in lupus nephritis

With an incidence rate as high as 60%, lupus nephritis(LN) is one of the major complications of systemic lupus erythematosus. It is also one of leading causes of death. Currently most patients progress to chronic renal failure or end-stage renal disease after long-term hormone or cytotoxic drug dosing. One established gold standard for diagnosing LN is renal biopsy. However, due to its invasiveness and a great complexity of pathological classifications, the diagnostic value of renal biopsy for LN has remained rather limited. Using biomarkers of LN may facilitate an early diagnosis of LN and a gauge of its disease activity. This review summarized the recent advances of researches on traditional and novel biomarkers of LN related to LN disease activity, aiding in clinical diagnosis of LN and determination of LN disease activity.