Conclusions
Systemic lupus erythematosus patients showed significantly higher senescence T cell markers compared to controls, and the increase of T cell senescence, especially in the CD8 compartment, has some association with increased disease activity in patients with SLE.
Material and methods
This research was an observational cross-sectional study on 53 women aged 16-45 years diagnosed with SLE based on SLICC 2012 criteria. All subjects were recorded for demographic and clinical data, and their SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score was measured to evaluate disease activity. Active disease was defined as SLEDAI score ≥ 3. The CD57 antigen and KLRG1 expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were calculated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by flow cytometry. Interferon γ was measured from serum using ELISA. The comparison was done using the Mann-Whitney U test, and correlation was tested using the Spearman test. Associations between variables were calculated using linear regression models.
Methods
This research was an observational cross-sectional study on 53 women aged 16-45 years diagnosed with SLE based on SLICC 2012 criteria. All subjects were recorded for demographic and clinical data, and their SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score was measured to evaluate disease activity. Active disease was defined as SLEDAI score ≥ 3. The CD57 antigen and KLRG1 expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were calculated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by flow cytometry. Interferon γ was measured from serum using ELISA. The comparison was done using the Mann-Whitney U test, and correlation was tested using the Spearman test. Associations between variables were calculated using linear regression models.
Results
Systemic lupus erythematosus patients with active disease had markedly higher CD4+KLRG1+ (3.1 [1.3-5.5]% vs. 0.3 [0.1-0.5]%), CD8+CD57+ (11.6 ±7.1% vs. 2.4 ±2.0%, p = 0.000), and CD8+KLRG1+ T cell percentages (13.7 ±7.5% vs. 0.3 ±0.1%, p = 0.000), and IFN- γ levels (208.9 [148.3-233.8] vs. 146.7 [130.2-210.8] pg/ml, p = 0.048), compared to the inactive patients. Positive correlation and association was found between the CD8+CD57+ and CD8+KLRG1+ percentages with the SLEDAI score (p = 0.007 and p = 0.007, for the linear regression analysis, respectively). Conclusions: Systemic lupus erythematosus patients showed significantly higher senescence T cell markers compared to controls, and the increase of T cell senescence, especially in the CD8 compartment, has some association with increased disease activity in patients with SLE.