2. History of Lupus
Lupus means “wolf” in Latin
10th century- case reports appeared in writings
Late 1800s- Sir William Osler initially described the
systemic nature and linked rashes to organ involvement
1949- LE cell described by Malcolm Hargraves at Mayo
Clinic
1954- ANA described
1971- First set of classification criteria proposed for Lupus
1983- Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome described
3. History
1948 – Malcolm Hargraves discovers the lupus
erythematosus (LE) cell.
1957 – The first anti-DNA antibody is identified.
6. What exactly is Lupus?
Autoimmune disease where one’s immune system
attacks itself
Autoantibody production -> immune complex
deposition -> inflammation -> damage
Chronic disease, characterized by flares and
remission
Pleomorphic with different phenotypic expressions
Multisystem involvement
7. Types Of Lupus
Drug Induced Lupus
Neonatal Lupus
Cutaneous Lupus
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
8. Cutaneous
Most common rash is photosensitive, raised
erythematous malar rash. 55-85% develop at
some point in disease
Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE): 15-30%
circular, scaly hyperpimented lesions with
erythematous rim, atrophic center—can be
disfiguring involving the bridge of the nose and
adjacent cheeks.
Mouth/vaginal/nasal ulcers
Alopecia: may be diffuse or patchy. Occurs
50%
9. Drug- Induced Lupus
Approximately 80 offending agents can cause
lupus
15,000- 30,000 cases reported annually
Production of autoantibodies more common
than clinical symptoms
99% disappear within 3 months of stopping
the medicine.
10. Neonatal Lupus
Rare condition
not true lupus, passively transferred autoimmune
disease
Occurs when mother is SSA/SSB positive
Transplacental transfer of IgG anti SSA or SSB
antibodies
5-7% babies will have a transient rash, resolves by
6-8 months
2% of babies will have cardiac complications with
congenital heart block
11. SYSTEMIC LUPUS
ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE)
Prevalence of 40 to 50 cases / 100,000
Major causes of mortality
Infections and nephritis (early)
Athrosclerosis (late)
Risk factors
Genetics (HLA-A1, HLA-B8 and HLA-DR3)
Race (AA, Hispanic, Asia > Caucasian)
Hormones
Chemicals
Microorganisms
12. SYSTEMIC LUPUS
ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE)
Autoimmune disease affecting multiple organ
systems
Relapsing (flares) and remitting course
Protean clinical manifestations
Etiology is unknown
Female to male ratio is 9:1
Age of onset
16 to 55 years (65%)
< 16 years (20%)
13. Who get’s Lupus?
Prevalence is over 1.5 million Americans
Incidence difficult due to lack of strict
definition
Bimodal peak presentation: ages 20-40 and
again after age 60
Prevalence is higher in African Americans,
Asians, Hispanics
Female to male predominance
14. pathogenesis
Immunologic factors;
Inherited defect in B cells
Stimulation of B cells by microorganisms
T helper cell hyperactivity
T suppressor cell defect
15. pathogenesis
Genetic factors ;immunoregulatory
function of class II HLA genes
Other factors
Drugs ; pencillamineD
Viral infections; EBV infection
Hormones; oestrogen
16. pathogenesis
Type II hypersensitivity ; formation of
autoantibodies against red blood
cell,platelets, leucocytes results in
haematologic derangement
Type III hypersensitivity; Ag and Ab
complex and deposited at renal
glomeruli and walls of small blood
vessels
17. Does your sex really matter?
90% of patients with lupus are female
Before puberty F:M ratio is 2:1
During reproductive years ratio 8:1
Post-menopausal ratio 2.3:1
Increased frequency in women attributed to
the hormonal effect of estrogen
18. Does your sex really matter?
Nurses Health Study
use of estrogen-containing contraceptive agents
associated with an 50 percent increase in risk of
developing SLE
either early onset of menarche (age ≤ 10 years) or
administration of estrogen to postmenopausal
women doubles their risk
Treatment of clinically stable SLE with oral
contraceptives for one year does not increase
disease flares
19. Overactive B-cells
Estrogen is a stimulator of B-cell activity
Lupus is much more prevalent in females of ages
15-45
Height of Estrogen production
IL-10, also a B-cell stimulator is in high
concentration in lupus patient serum.
High concentration linked to cell damage caused by
inflammation
20. Genetic Associations
HLA’s are loci on genes that code for
certain β chain on the MHC complex
HLA-DR2
HLA-DR3
HLA-DQB1 – Involved in mediating
production of antibodies to ds-DNA
21. Genetics of Lupus
High concordance in monozygotic twins
5-12% or relatives with lupus have the disease
No single lupus gene
Disease is polygenic
At least 30 susceptiblility genes identified
HLADR2, HLADR3, HLADR4, HLADR8 (present
in 75%)
Homozygous deficiency of C1q complement
22. Environmental Factors
UVA and UVB light can stimulate/ up-regulate
autoimmunity
stimulating keratinocytes to produce cytokines -> activate B
cells to produce ab
Viruses/Bacteria: molecular mimicry
SLE patients have higher titers of antibodies to Epstein-Barr
virus (EBV), increased circulating EBV viral loads; SSA ab
has a sequence similar to EBV nuclear ag 1
Parvovirus B19
Drugs
Silica exposure, tobacco smoke, emotional stress
24. Immune dysregulation
Upregulation of innate immunity
Delayed clearance of apoptotic cells, resulting in
antigenic stimulation
Loss of tolerance via failed elimination of
autoreactive T lymphocytes
Abnormalities in B cells
Abnormalities in T regulatory cells (CD4+/CD25+
cells down regulate immune system responses)
25.
26. Autoantibodies in Lupus
Study of US army recruits revealed lupus autoab
present for up to 9 years prior to dx in 85%
ANA
dsDNA
Anti-Smith
Anti-RNP
Anti-SSA, anti-SSB-ANTI RIBONUCLEOPROTEIN
Anticardiolipin,ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID ,anti-histone
Anti B2 glycoprotein,antiribosomal
27. Immunoglobulins
Anti-dsDNA IgG: very specific, may
correlate with disease activity
Anti-Sm: specific, but only present in
25% of cases, does not correlate with
activity
APLA: not specific. Used to identify
patients at increased risk for clots,
thrombocytopenia and fetal loss
28. Activation of Complement
System
Complement system is activated by the
binding of antibodies to foreign debris.
In this case its over activation
RBCs lack CR1 receptor
Decreasing the effective removal of
complexes
29.
30.
31. How do patients present?
Myriad of symptoms
Symptoms are often non-specific
No two patients are alike
50% of patients have organ threatening
disease
50% do not have organ threatening disease
32. CLINICAL
MANIFESTATIONS OF SLE
General (Constitutional)
Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, malaise and weight loss
Renal
Hematuria, proteinuria
Skin
Malar “Butterfly” rash
Photosensitivity rash
Cardiac
Myocarditis, pericarditis, endocarditis
33. CLINICAL
MANIFESTATIONS OF SLE
Central nervous system
Cognitive dysfunction
Pulmonary
Pleurisy
Musculoskeletal
Myalgias, arthralgias and arthritis
Hematologic
Anemia, leukemia, thrombocytopenia
Lymphatic system
Lymphadenopathy
34. Symptoms
Non-specific:
Fatigue
Weight loss
Malaise = generally feeling ill
Fever
Anorexia (over time)
Arthritis
90% of patients experience arthritic symptoms
Symmetrical
Appears in hands, wrists, and knees mainly
35. CUTANEOUS LESIONS
Butter fly area on nose and cheek
LM shows liquefactive degeneration of
basal layer of epidermis ,oedema at
dermoepidermal junction, acute
necrotising vasculitis in dermis
IF shows immune complex deposits
(IgG and C3) at dermoepidermal
junction.
36. Skin Manifestations
• Malar or Butterfly
Rash
• Discoid Rash –
Stimulated by UV
light
• Skin
manifestations
only appear in 30-
40% of lupus
patients.
51. Serositis - Pulmonary
Pleuritis with or without effusion
- if case is mild, tx: NSAIDS
- if case is severe, tx: steroids
Life-threatening manifestations: interstitial
inflammation which can lead to fibrosis and
intra-alveolar hemorrhage.
Also pneumothorax and pulmonary HTN can
occur
53. Serositis – Cardiac
Pericarditis: most common cardiac manifestation
Myocarditis (rare) and fibrinous endocarditis
(Libman-Sacks) may occur.
MI due to atherosclerosis can occur in <35 y/o
Vegetations on mitral and tricuspid valve
Vegetations show fibrinoid material ,necrotic
debris, inflammatory cells.
Endocardium and myocardium shows focal
inflammation and necrotising vasculitis
54. Neuro
Cranial or peripheral neuropathy occurs in 10-15%, it is
probably secondary to vasculitis in small arteries
supplying nerves.
Diffuse CNS dysfunction: memory and reasoning
difficulty
Headache: if excruciating, often indicate acute flare
Seizures of any type
Psychosis: must distinguish from steroid-induced
psychosis (occurs in 1st weeks of tx at doses ≥40mg
prednisone and resolves after several days of reducing
or stopping tx)
55. Cont.
TIA, Stroke: mostly increased among
patients that are APLA positive
50-fold increase in risk of vascular events
in women under 45 compared to healthy
women
Treatment for clotting event is long-term
anticoagulation
56. Heme
Anemia: usually Normochromic,
normocytic
Leukopenia: almost always consists of
lymphopenia, not granulocytopenia
Thrombocytopenia
57. Renal
Nephritis: usually asymptomatic, so
always check UA if patient has known or
suspected SLE
Occurs early in course of disease-if not
present w/in 1 yr, probably will not occur.
Histologic classification by renal biopsy is
useful to plan therapy
58. Histologic Classifications
Class I is minimal mesangial glomerulonephritis which is
histologically normal on light microscopy but with
mesangial deposits on electron microscopy
class II is based on a finding of mesangial proliferative
lupus nephritis. Mesangial hypercellularity, subepithelial or
subendothelial deposits on electron microscopy.
Class III is focal lupus nephritis ;proliferation of
endothelial , mesangial and epithelial cells.
Focal sub endothelial deposits on electron
microscopy
59. Class IV is diffuse proliferative nephritis.
Proliferation of endothelial,mesangial and
epithelial cells.diffuse subendothelial deposits
on electron microscopy.
Class V is membranous nephritis and diffuse
basement membrane thickening electron
microscopy shows segmental subepithelial
deposits.
Class VI Glomerulosclerosis- sclerosis of
90%glomeruli.
64. ACR 1997 revised criteria
1. malar rash
2. discoid rash
3. photosensitivity
4. oral or nasal ulcers
5. arthritis
6. serositis: pleuritis or pericarditis
7. renal disorder: proteinuria > 500mg/day, cells
8. immunologic: anti SM, anti dsDNA, ACL, lupus ac
9. hematologic: anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia
10. neurologic: seizures or psychosis
11. positive ANA in absence of drugs
65. Diagnosis of SLE
Initial criteria proposed by the ACR in 1971,
revised in 1982 and 1997
Criteria designed for research purposes
Need 4 of 11 criteria for diagnosis of SLE
Not perfect, but have over 90% sensitivity
and specificity
Currently two international groups are re-
evaluating the criteria
66. 2012 SLICC Classification Criteria
Need at least 4 criteria (1 clinical and 1
lab)
Or biopsy proven Lupus Nephritis with
Pos ANA or pos dsDNA
67. LE Cell
The LE cell is a
neutrophil that has
engulfed the antibody-
coated nucleus of
another neutrophil.
LE cells may appear in
rosettes where there are
several neutrophils vying
for an individual
complement covered
protein.
68. Autoantibodies in Lupus
Study of US army recruits revealed lupus autoab
present for up to 9 years prior to dx in 85%
ANA
dsDNA
Anti-Smith
Anti-RNP
Anti-SSA, anti-SSB
Anticardiolipin
Anti B2 glycoprotein
69. Meaning of ANAs
What exactly are they?
Antibodies that bind to various antigens in
the nucleus of a cell
How is it measured?
Indirect Immunofluorescence
70. ANTINUCLEAR
ANTIBODY (ANA)
TEST
Diagnostic test for autoimmune diseases
Detects autoantibodies against nuclear and cytoplasmic
antigens
Nuclear and cytoplasmic antigens
DS-DNA, SS-A, SS-B, Smith, RNP,
Laboratory methods
Enzyme immunoassay (EIA)
Immunofluorescence assay (IFA)
Indirect or direct
71. ANA in Lupus
Sensitivity 93-99% in SLE
Sensitivity 95-100% in drug induced Lupus
Specificity is not great
Higher the titer, higher the specificity
1:40- 30% normal population
1:160- seen in 5% of the population
72. ANA
ANA: positive in 95% of cases. Pretest
probability affects interpretation. In PCP setting,
2% for SLE. In rheum: 30%
Low Positive (1:160 or lower): SLE likelihood
<2% (<26% for rheumatologists)
High Positive (1:320 or higher): SLE likelihood:
2-17% (32-81% for rheumatologists)
SLE specific patterns: Rim and Homogenous
73.
74. ANA and Aging
For every year after age 50, percentage of
ANA positivity increases 1%/year
For example
Age 50 1%
Age 55 5%
Age 60 10%
76. ANA patterns
Staining Patterns
Observer dependent
Not sensitive
Not specific
Only LOOSELY associated with certain
disease states
77.
78. ANA measurement
Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay
1. Take patient serum and add it cells
2. If there are antibodies they will bind
3. Add a fluorochrome tag
4. View under a fluorescent microscope
5. If it lights up in the nucleus then it is positive
6. Dilute sample and repeat steps 1-5 until nuclear
fluorescence disappears
79. Clinical Indications for ANA
ANA is NOT a good screening test given its low
specificity
Presence of ANA does NOT mandate the presence
of rheumatologic illness
A negative ANA is more useful and makes Lupus
very unlikely
ANA titers correlate poorly with disease activity so
serial measurements are not recommended
A positive ANA with anti-centromere pattern is
very specific for limited scleroderma
83. Poor Prognostic Factors
Renal disease (esp DPGN)
Hypertension
Male sex
Young age
Older age at presentation
Poor socioeconomic status
Black race, which may primarily reflect low socioeconomic
status
Presence of antiphospholipid antibodies
Antiphospholipid syndrome
High overall disease activity
84. Mortality
Bimodal mortality
Early deaths: infection and renal
involvement
Later deaths: atherosclerotic disease
Premenopausal women with lupus have
30-50x higher risk of CAD than their non-
lupus counterparts