Correlation between peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations and primary systemic lupus erythematosus

This study explored the correlation between peripheral blood CD3^＋, CD3^＋/CD4^＋, CD3⁺/CD8⁺, CD4^＋/CD8^＋, CD3^-/CD16⁺ CD56⁺, and CD3^-CD19⁺ and disease activity of different subtypes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The percentages of CD3⁺, CD3⁺/CD4⁺, CD3⁺/CD8⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, CD3^-/CD16⁺ CD56⁺, and CD3^-CD19⁺ in the peripheral blood of patients (n = 80) classified into lupus nephritis, blood involvement, and joint involvement and SLE in different active stages were detected by flow cytometry. Their correlations with baseline clinical experimental indicators of SLE patients' SLE disease activity index score (SLEDAI) and complement C3 were analyzed. The results showed that CD3⁺, CD3⁺/CD4⁺, and CD3⁺/CD8⁺ at baseline level were negatively correlated with SLEDAI scores. These were positively correlated with C3. In conclusion, T-lymphocyte subpopulations are closely related to SLE activity and can be used as reference indicators to evaluate the SLE activity.