[A possible role of T cell subsets causing anemia in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)]

The influences of T cell subsets on erythropoiesis were studied in ten SLE patients with anemia of unknown etiology. In these SLE patients CFU-E growth from bone marrow mononuclear cells was significantly decreased compared with normal controls. However, an increase in CFU-E growth was resulted by the depletion of T cells or cytotoxic/suppressor T cells from bone marrow mononuclear cells with treatment of OKT3 or OKT8 monoclonal antibody in three out of the ten patients. Autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells inhibited CFU-E growth by co-culture methods in three out of the ten patients. The inhibition of CFU-E growth was diminished by the depletion of OKT8+ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in one out of the three patients. After the corticosteroid therapy, in two patients, the suppression of CFU-E growth by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was significantly reduced in accord with recovery of anemia. It is assumed that T cells with inhibitory action to CFU-E growth belonging to OKT8+ subsets are present in some SLE patients with anemia and may play a pathogenetic role in the development of anemia.