What are the causes of systemic lupus erythematosus in children?

Today we learned about a disease called systemic lupus erythematosus. Have you never heard of it? Then let’s learn about it now. The main symptoms of this disease are fever and many red patches on the skin. The cause of systemic lupus erythematosus in children is particularly complicated. If the disease is serious, it will affect the damage of the whole body system and can be fatal. So let’s learn about the cause of systemic lupus erythematosus together.

1. Genetic factors

This disease has a certain association with human leukocyte antigen. Chinese people are more closely associated with HLA-DR2. Relatives of affected children may have the same disease. The incidence rate of monozygotic twins is 24%, and that of dizygotic twins is 2%. In recent years, it has been found that HLA-Ⅱ alleles are related to certain autoantibodies in SLE patients. 96% of patients with high dSdNA antibodies have HLA-DQBI*0201 (linked to DR3 and DR7) or DQBI*0602 (linked to DR2 and DRw6) or DQB1*0302 (linked to DR4 haplotype). Antiphospholipid antibodies and anti-Sm antibodies have also been found to be closely related to certain types of alleles. Some complement components, such as C2, C4, and C1, hereditary gene defects are also prone to cause this disease.

2. Immunization

Peripheral blood lymphocytes decrease, suppressor T cells (CD8+) cannot reduce the production of immunoglobulin (Ig) by B cells, T cells produce more IL-6, stimulating B cell proliferation, while IL-2 is reduced, B cell function is active, blood Ig is polyclonal, and there are various autoantibodies in the body, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-DNA antibodies, cold-reacting IgM anti-lymphocyte antibodies, IgG anti-neuronal antibodies, antiphospholipid antibodies, anti-cardiolipin antibodies and rheumatoid factor, etc. Autoantibodies can cause acute hemolytic anemia, hypoleukocytosis, vasculitis and coagulation disorders (thrombocytopenia, etc.), and the large amount of immune complexes produced in response can cause nephritis, heart and central nervous system diseases. In this disease, the complement system is activated, blood complement is reduced, and complement components, especially Clq, are often present in kidney tissue, indicating the activation of the classical pathway.

There are many main causes of this disease, such as genetics, immunity and so on. Every family hopes that their children can grow up healthy and happy, so they should properly educate and care for their children to avoid causing many diseases to their children. Children should also be allowed to engage in appropriate activities; more exercise will be good for them.

3. Hormones

The disease is more common in women, with the incidence in women being 5 to 9 times that in men. Pregnancy and oral contraceptives can aggravate the condition, suggesting that there is an estrogen-mediated immune regulation disorder in this disease. The testosterone level in the blood of children is often low, and the serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and prolactin levels in SLE children are higher than normal.

4. Environmental factors

Virus-like inclusion bodies can be found in the patient's endothelial cells, and antiviral antibodies can be detected in the glomerular lavage fluid, both of which indicate that the disease is related to viral infection. It has also been observed clinically that infection can induce the disease. Infection with herpes simplex virus can increase the patient's serum Sm antibody, but the role of infection in the onset of SLE is still unclear. Various viral antibodies can be detected in the patient's blood, especially increased antibodies against rubella virus, Epstein-Barr virus and paramyxovirus, which may indicate polyclonal B-cell activation rather than specific immune response. Ultraviolet radiation can induce or aggravate the disease. Ultraviolet rays can lyse nDNA in skin tissue cells, and can induce keratinocytes to produce IL-1, IL-3, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor, and can also weaken macrophage clearance of antigens and inhibit T cell activation. Allergies to certain drugs and strong psychological emotions and stress states can aggravate the disease.