Abstract: Objective To investigate the correlation between serum interleukin-33 (IL-33) and liver injury in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods A total of 213 SLE patients admitted to our hospital from November 2016 to November 2018 were enrolled in the study, and retrospective analysis was carried out. The clinical data of SLE patients were collected and the incidence of liver injury was analyzed. The independent influencing factors of hepatic injury in SLE patients were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the correlation between IL-33 and hepatic injury in SLE patients was analyzed. Results Among 213 SLE patients, 42 (19.72%) had liver injury, 171 (80.28%) did not have liver injury. In the liver injury group, the incidence rates of infection, neuropsychiatric system damage and blood system damage, the positive rate of anti-U1-nuclear ribonucleoprotein (anti-U1-nRNP) antibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index score, and levels of immunoglobulin G and serum IL-33 were higher than those in the non-liver injury group (P<0.05). The ROC curve showed that serum IL-33 had certain predictive value for liver injury in SLE. The area under the curve was 0.816. The best cut-off value in predicting the liver injury in SLE was 939.475 pg/ml, with sensitivity and specificity was 0.760 and 0.810 respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that besides less than 3-month duration of the disease odd ratio (OR) = 3.394, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.156 ~ 9.952), neuropsychiatric system damage (OR=4.116, 95% CI=1.638 ~ 10.336), blood system damage (OR=4.118, 95% CI=1.118 ~ 4.980), and anti-U1-nRNP antibody (OR=2.061, 95% CI=1.055 ~ 4.017), serum IL-33 (OR=1.189, 95% CI=1.012 ~ 2.779) was also an independent risk factor for liver injury in SLE(P<0.05).Conclusion Serum IL-33 participates in the pathological process of SLE, and is significantly correlated to liver injury in SLE. Therefore, it should be paid enough attention to clinically.

Key words: Interleukin-33, Systemic lupus erythematosus, Liver injury