Background/Aims: Nephrologists have pursued ideal, dynamic and noninvasive methods for assessing renal function and disease progression. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) imaging is a useful technique for assessing renal disease. This current study was performed to explore the correlation between the hypoxia iconographical index and renal pathological features in lupus nephritis. Methods: Adult patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Renal biopsy tissues were characterized based on the LNISN/RPS 2003 classification. R2* values of functional magnetic resonance parameters were acquired using the BOLD technique. The data characteristics of R2* values of different pathological patterns were calculated. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was performed to explore the correlation between R2* values and clinical or pathological features. Results: A total of twenty-three patients and eighteen healthy volunteers were examined with BOLD MRI. Renal pathological patterns included five class III (including 3 class III+V), eight class IV (including 4 class IV+V) and five class IV. The mean renal R2* values in LN patients were higher than those in healthy volunteers. R2* values in class V patients were higher than those in class IV and class III. The MCA showed that higher R2* values were associated with pathological features in class V patients. Conclusions: The extent of renal hypoxia in patients with LN was more serious compared with the healthy volunteers. Differentiated mechanisms of renal oxygenation are possibly involved in proliferative and non-proliferative LN patients. R2* values may be linked with multiple clinical and pathological indexes.

This content is only available via PDF.
Open Access License / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permission. Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug. Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.