Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Nephrol. Sep 25, 2026; 15(3): 120318
Published online Sep 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v15.i3.120318
Published online Sep 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v15.i3.120318
Role of fibroblast growth factor-23 in renal disease activity and bone density involvement in patients with lupus nephritis
Nashwa M Azoz, Ammar A Ammar, Essam M Abdel Aziz, Internal Medicine-Nephrology Division, Assiut University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71711, Egypt
Howaida A Nafady, Internal Medicine-Clinical Hematology Unit, Assiut University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71711, Egypt
Rabea A Gadelkareem, Department of Urology, Assiut Urology and Nephrology Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Randa A Elzohne, Department of Clinical Pathology, Assiut University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71711, Egypt
Randa A Elzohne, Department of Clinical Pathology, Badr University in Assiut, New Nasser City 82516, Assiut, Egypt
Author contributions: Azoz NM and Ammar AA designed the research, collected the data, and wrote the paper; Nafady HA and Elzohne RA contributed to literature review, writing, revision, and supervision of the work; Gadelkareem RA and Abdel Aziz EM contributed to statistical analysis, literature review, writing, and revision; all authors approved the paper.
AI contribution statement: A few parts were assessed using an online program for language polishing, and they are now revised manually.
Institutional review board statement: The proposal of this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt, on March 11, 2025. The institutional review board number is 04-2025-100349.
Informed consent statement: All participants provided informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Rabea A Gadelkareem, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, Assiut Urology and Nephrology Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Elgamaa Street, Assiut 71515, Egypt. rabeagad@aun.edu.eg
Received: February 24, 2026
Revised: March 17, 2026
Accepted: May 13, 2026
Published online: September 25, 2026
Processing time: 171 Days and 6 Hours
Revised: March 17, 2026
Accepted: May 13, 2026
Published online: September 25, 2026
Processing time: 171 Days and 6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) regulates mineral metabolism and may reflect both renal activity and skeletal involvement. The present study demonstrated that serum FGF-23 levels were significantly associated with renal disease activity and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with lupus nephritis. Elevated FGF-23 levels were correlated with impaired renal function and reduced BMD. Therefore, FGF-23 may be a valuable biomarker of renal disease activity and the risk of bone loss. Routine assessment of serum FGF-23 in patients with lupus nephritis may aid in risk stratification and disease monitoring. Additionally, those patients should undergo regular evaluation of BMD parameters.