Blood traps may reveal lupus kidney treatment success

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria for LN group: 1. Adult patients (≥ 18 and \> 60 years) of either sex. 2. Fulfill the 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) \[11\]. 3. Diagnosis of active lupus nephritis requiring a renal biopsy as per standard clinical indications (e.g., proteinuria ≥ 0.5 g/24h, active urinary sediment, unexplained rise in serum creatinine). 4. Availability of an adequate renal biopsy specimen for histopathological evaluation according to the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) 2018 classification. 5. Patients planned to initiate standard induction therapy (e.g., mycophenolate mofetil or cyclophosphamide with corticosteroids). 6. Provision of written informed consent. Inclusion Criteria for Control Groups: 1\) SLE without nephritis: Patients meeting SLE criteria without any clinical or laboratory evidence of renal involvement (normal urinalysis, proteinuria \< 0.3 g/24h, normal serum creatinine). Exclusion Criteria: * Participants will be excluded if ANY of the following criteria apply: 1. Other Kidney Diseases: * Presence of, or suspicion of, any other primary or significant secondary kidney disease unrelated to SLE (e.g., diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephrosclerosis, IgA nephropathy, significant drug-induced nephrotoxicity, rheumatoid arthritis, positive HBs antigen or HCV antibody). 2. Confounding Clinical Conditions: * Presence of an active or recent major infection (e.g., sepsis, pneumonia, UTI) at the time of enrollment, as infection can significantly alter immune markers. * Presence of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD Stage 4 or 5) predating the diagnosis of SLE. 3 · Pregnancy or lactation. 4\. Recent use (within the last 3 months) of biologic therapies that may affect neutrophil function or NET formation. 5\. Use of medications known to significantly alter neutrophil activity. 6. History of malignancy.