Diagnosis of lupus nephritis — the current status of knowledge

Abstract

The search for the novel biomarkers, enabling the diagnosis and monitoring of lupus nephritis activity is currently the subject of many studies. However, kidney biopsy is still the gold standard and the diagnosis of specific type of lupus nephritis affects the choice of treatment regimen. This article introduces classical, as well as recently discovered, indicators related to systemic lupus and lupus nephritis activity, including the most sought biomarkers — associated with histopathological type of nephropathy. Determination of features, which are able to provide non-invasively monitoring of the disease activity, will allow early and more efficient optimization of the therapeutic treatment. It is possible that measuring a number of biomarkers, both classical and novel, will be the best solution and the best prognostic indicator of renal involvement, evaluation of the activity and type of lupus nephritis.