Evidence mapPaperPMID 39589907Full record

ArticleRheumatology (Oxford, England)2025

Elevated serum interferon-α2 associates with activity and flare risk in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

Valentina Natoli, Yanick J Crow, David P J Hunt, Kukatharmini Tharmaratnam, Andrea L Jorgensen, Michael W Beresford, Christian M Hedrich, Eve M D Smith

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Valentina NatoliDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
Yanick J CrowMRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
David P J HuntCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Kukatharmini TharmaratnamDepartment of Health Data Science, University of Liverpool Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Liverpool, UK.
Andrea L JorgensenDepartment of Health Data Science, University of Liverpool Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Liverpool, UK.
Michael W BeresfordDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
Christian M HedrichDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
Eve M D SmithDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8371-7597

Funding

Alder Hey Children'sAlder Hey Children's NHS Foundation TrustEuropean Research Council 786142Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre for ChildrenIntegrated Clinical Academic TrainingLupus UK JXR10500Lupus UK JXR12309Medical Research Council MC_UU_00035/11MRF_National Institute for Health and Care ResearchNHS Foundation TrustUKDRIUniversity of LiverpoolVersus Arthritis ARUK-20621Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 215621/Z/19/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study investigated serum IFN-α2 as a putative marker of disease activity and predictor of disease flares in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE).

methodsA total of 222 serum samples were analysed, including 28 healthy controls (HCs), 88 jSLE (159 samples) and 35 juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients. IFN-α2 levels were determined using single-molecule array (Simoa). Cross-sectionally, median IFN-α2 levels were compared between patient groups and disease activity state sub-groups. Time to flare was analysed by linear regression. Longitudinally, the ability of the IFN-α2 and other traditional biomarkers (erythrocyte sedimentation rate/ESR, low C3 and anti-dsDNA antibodies) to detect and predict flares was assessed via a generalised linear mixed model.

resultsCross-sectional analysis showed higher median IFN-α2 levels in the active/intermediate group (median 3185 fg/ml, IQR 48-13 703) compared with the LDAS (571 fg/ml, IQR 57-1310 fg/ml, P = 0.04) and remission sub-groups (271 fg/ml, IQR 3-56, P <0.001). IFN-α2 was higher in all JSLE patients (median 587 fg/ml, IQR 11-2774) as compared with JIA patients (median 7 fg/ml, IQR 3-236, P = 0.0017) and HCs (P = 0.017). JSLE patients in remission or LDAS with abnormal IFN-α2 levels had a shorter time to flare over the subsequent six months compared with those with normal IFN-α2 levels (P = 0.022). Longitudinally, multivariable analysis demonstrated high IFN-α2 to be the only predictor of an ongoing flare (P = 0.028).

conclusionSerum IFN-α2 levels associate with disease activity and can predict ongoing and future flares in jSLE. These findings suggest that quantification of IFN-α2 may support risk stratification and disease monitoring in these patients.

Indexed as

Interferon-alphaLupus Erythematosus, SystemicAdolescentAntibodies, AntinuclearArthritis, JuvenileBiomarkersBlood SedimentationCase-Control StudiesChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSeverity of Illness IndexSymptom Flare UpAntibodies, AntinuclearBiomarkersInterferon-alphabiomarkerdisease activityflarejSLESimoatype I IFN

Identifiers

PMID39589907
PMCPMC7617100

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.