Investigation of the Relationship between SEN Virus and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Background and Aim: Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that affects joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.The main cause of this complex disease is still not well known, but researchers consider environmental factors such as virus contamination to be involved in the development of the disease.The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between the SEN virus and systemic lupus erythematosus.Materials and Methods: This case-control study included 58 healthy individuals and 58 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus referring to the rheumatology clinic of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in 1401.Patients' data including age, gender, duration of disease, clinical manifestations and disease activity were collected.Serum samples were taken from the patients and after DNA extraction, nested-PCR test was performed to identify SEN virus and its common genotypes.Results: SEN virus was detected in 26 healthy people and 37 patients with lupus erythematosus (P=0.031).In the lupus patients, 20 cases had genotype H, 11 had genotype D and 6 had both genotypes.In the healthy cases, 10 had genotype H, 9 had genotype D and 7 had both genotypes.SEN virus was found more frequently in the patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus than in the patients with quiescent disease (P<0.045).There was no statistical relationship between virus genotype and systemic lupus erythematosus (P=0.105).Also, there was no correlation between the presence of SEN virus and the clinical symptoms of the disease and also the duration of the disease. Conclusion:The results of the present study showed that SEN virus is significantly more prevalent in the lupus patients than in the healthy subjects.Therefore, the hypothesis of a possible link between this virus and lupus erythematosus is raised.More studies are necessary to discover the role of this virus in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus or change in its clinical course.