Mannose binding lectin: a biomarker of systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity

Table 2 Distribution of different mannose binding lectin (MBL) phenotypes in clinical categories of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Clinical categories	High MBL (n= 44)	Intermediate MBL (n= 13)	Low MBL (n= 36)	P-value; odds ratio
Nephritis	13 (29)	4 (31)	10 (28)	NS
Nephritis and carditis, or NPSLE, or serositis	16 (36)	5 (38)	4 (11)	0.01; 4.57¹ 0.04; 5.00²
AIHA	4 (9)	3 (23)	3 (8)	NS
Carditis	5 (11)	0	1 (3)	NS
NPSLE	14 (31)	4 (31)	8 (22)	NS
Serositis	8 (18)	3 (23)	7 (19)	NS
Musculoskeletal and cutaneous only	2 (5)	3 (23)	11 (31)	0.002; 9.42¹

¹High vs. Low; ²Intermediate vs. Low; data are number (%) of participants. Based on the plasma MBL levels, SLE patients were categorised as high MBL producers (mean 2.04 μg/ml), intermediate MBL producers (mean 1.03 μg/ml), or low MBL producers (mean 0.33 μg/ml). The Fisher exact test was used to compare the distribution of MBL phenotypes in SLE manifestations. AIHA, autoimmune hemolytic anemia; NPSLE, neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus; NS, not significant.

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