Clinical significance of anti-lipoprotein lipase antibodies in Japanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives As there is a lack of reports on the association between anti-lipoprotein lipase (anti-LPL) antibodies and dyslipoproteinemia, we aimed to analyse the association between anti-LPL antibodies and the clinical and serological characteristics of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cardiovascular (CV) events. Methods Eighty patients with SLE were examined for the presence of anti-LPL antibodies via western blotting. Data on laboratory findings and the occurrence of CV events were retrospectively collected and evaluated. Patients with SLE were classified into two groups according to the detection of anti-LPL antibodies: anti-LPL antibody-positive and antibody-negative. Results Anti-LPL antibody immunoglobulin G was detected in 28 patients with SLE (35.0%). Additionally, triglyceride levels tended to be higher in the anti-LPL antibody-positive group than in the anti-LPL antibody-negative group. The former exhibited significantly higher levels of serum albumin, anti-Smith antibody, and IgM than the latter. The incidence of CV events was higher in the anti-LPL antibody-positive group than in the anti-LPL antibody-negative group (35.7% vs 5.8%, p = .001). Additionally, the risk of CV events was significantly higher in the anti-LPL antibody-positive group, with a hazard ratio of 169.20 (95% confidence interval: 5.75–4981.54, p = .003). Conclusion In this study, the positivity rate of anti-LPL antibodies was high among Japanese patients with SLE. Additionally, a significantly higher incidence of CV events was observed in the anti-LPL antibody-positive group compared to that in the anti-LPL antibody-negative group.