OBJECTIVETo evaluate the association of the level of urine and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) with disease activity and response to cyclosporine A (CsA) therapy in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).METHODSSixteen hospitalized patients with LN were studied. At admission, fifteen patients had type IV-LN and one had type V-LN. All patients received CsA 6 mg/kg per day for 6-8 weeks, then tapered off gradually to 2 mg/kg per day. The levels of urinary and serum sIL-2R were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-dsDNA antibody (A-ds-DNA), complement C3 and C4, total IgG, creatinine, urinary red blood cells and protein excretion, and lymphocyte subpopulations in the peripheral blood were also measured before and after CsA treatment.RESULTSIn LN patients, both urinary (534±101 U/ml) and serum SIL-2R levels (326±148 U/ml) were higher than those in normal controls. These findings were associated with higher levels of peripheral blood CD4 + and

来源：CHINESE MEDICAL JOURNAL 1997 年 110卷 9期