Changes of Peripheral T Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Efficient indicators for evaluating the imbalance of lymphocyte function were crucial to clinical therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. This study aimed to find biomarkers to assess lymphocyte-mediated immune response in SLE patients.

A total of 81 SLE patients (non-active: n = 35, active: n = 46) and 70 healthy donors were recruited in the study. Peripheral blood was obtained, and flow cytometry was used to detect circulating lymphocytes.

Data showed that the counts of CD3⁺T, CD4⁺T, CD8⁺ T, and NK cells were decreased in active SLE patients compared with non-active SLE patients and healthy donors. The counts of peripheral T cells were increased in responders but decreased in non-responders among active patients. In addition, an increase in B cell counts was found in active SLE patients compared with those in the other two groups. Active SLE patients showed higher percentages of memory T cells but lower naive T cells than those in non-active SLE patients and healthy controls. Activation molecules (CD38 and HLA-DR) and inhibitory molecule PD-1 expressions on T cells were significantly higher but percentages of CD28⁺CD8⁺T cells were lower in active SLE patients compared with those in the other two groups.

This study indicated that monitoring the alterations of circulating lymphocyte counts and surface molecules may be helpful to assess disease activity of SLE patients, even discriminate active and non-active patients, which was beneficial to choose the best treatment option in clinical therapy.