MO224VCAM-1 LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH ALBUMINURIA IN MULTIBACILLARY LEPROSY

Abstract Background and Aims Leprosy may present important renal and endothelial abnormalities, and this can worse patients’ prognosis. However, renal and vascular involvement in these patients has been poor investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate if higher systemic endothelial biomarkers levels are associated with renal abnormalities and clinical aspects of leprosy. Method This is a cross-sectional study with leprosy patients before initiation of multidrug therapy enrolled in January 2017 to December 2018 in Fortaleza, northeast Brazil. Leprosy-associated clinical and epidemiological data were collected. Two groups were constructed: Paucibacillary (PB) and Multibacillary (MB) for comparisons. Serum and urine samples were obtained for laboratory analysis. In urine the following parameters were evaluated: creatinine, proteinuria and albuminuria. In serum the endothelial biomarkers were evaluated: VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, using ELISA assay. Results A total of 101 leprosy patients were included, with mean age of 48±15 years, and 71 (70%) were male. The multibacillary form occurred in 81 cases (80%), where 22 had a Virchowian form. VCAM-1 was elevated in MB group and was correlated with the bacteriological index (skin smear) (r = 0.372, p <0.01), duration of disease symptoms (r = 0.234, p = 0.04), and number of skin lesions ( r = 0.331, p <0.001). Moreover, in MB patients who presented albuminuria >15 mg/g of creatinine, VCAM-1 showed a significant correlation (r = 0.341, p <0.05) with increased albuminuria and improve the correlation with number of skin lesions (r = 0.653, p=0.003). Conclusion Multibacillary leprosy patients present high systemic levels of VCAM-1, associated with leprosy clinical features and increased albuminuria, an important marker of kidney disease progression. Further prospective studies are necessary to establish a cause-effect relation and evaluate the preventive role of these biomarkers, aiming to improve clinical care.