ArticleLupus science & medicine2025
Lower circulating mitochondrial DNA and increased mitokines suggest significant mitochondrial dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus with renal involvement.
Article in Lupus science & medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Shared Major Metabolic Pathways and Potential Targeted Therapies in Malignancies and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Plasma Zonulin as a Biomarker of Divergent Channels Latency in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Immunomodulatory functions of growth differentiation factor 15 in skin aging and inflammatory dermatoses.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial DNA in systemic lupus erythematosus: pathogenic mechanisms, clinical biomarkers, and precision therapeutic strategies.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) in human body fluids: molecular characteristics, release mechanisms, and clinical translation-an updated review.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Review
- Plasma cell-free DNA genome-wide methylation profiling enables detection and activity assessment in systemic lupus erythematosus.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSLE is associated with significant morbidity, especially in the case of renal involvement. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role in SLE and may be assessed by measuring mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and cytokines reflecting mitochondrial stress (mitokines). Circulating mtDNA is a promising biomarker in SLE and appears to be reduced in severe SLE. However, measuring circulating mtDNA is challenging and reported methods are heterogenous. Our study aimed at evaluating whole blood mtDNA to nuclear DNA (nucDNA) ratio using droplet-digital PCR and circulating mitokines, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) and fibroblast growth factor 21 in SLE with and without renal involvement.
methodsCross-sectional study involving 195 patients with SLE and age-matched healthy volunteers (HV) as control. Biomarkers were compared in patients with and without renal involvement (defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min or proteinuria >0.5 g/day) and in those with active and inactive SLE.
resultsCompared with HV, patients with SLE displayed lower mtDNA/nucDNA ratios, especially in the case of renal involvement. Accordingly, mitokines were increased in patients with SLE with renal involvement. We found no correlation between mtDNA/nucDNA ratio and global disease activity. Mitokine levels, on the other hand, correlated with disease activity, in particular GDF-15 even after adjusting for renal involvement.
conclusionOur findings suggest that lower whole blood mtDNA/nucDNA ratio, a surrogate marker for mitochondrial dysfunction, reflects renal damage, while GDF-15 may also reflect disease activity in SLE. Further studies are needed to assess the clinical value of these markers as predictors for active lupus nephritis.
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