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DOI: 10.1191/0961203305lu2171oa Increased prevalence of activated CD70+CD4+ T cells in the periphery of patients with systemic lupus erythematosusDepartment of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA, The Center for Immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatic Diseases Division, The Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA, laurie.davis{at}utsouthwestern.edu Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by loss of immune tolerance. A hallmark of SLE is the presence of autoantibodies resulting from B cell hyperactivity. Previous studies have shown that the presence of abnormal B cell subsets in the periphery, such as CD27highCD20– B cells, correlate with disease activity. We examined the relationship between the expression of CD70, the ligand for CD27 expressed by activated T cells, and indicators of disease activity. A significant increase in median CD70+CD4+ T cell frequencies and memory CD45RA–CD4+ T cell frequencies was observed in SLE samples as compared to healthy controls. The frequencies of CD70+CD4+ T cells correlated with disease duration but not age, treatment, or disease activity. Although a majority of CD70+CD4+ T cells appeared to be effector memory cells, mitogen-stimulated CD70+CD4+ T cells were capable of secreting a full repertoire of effector cytokines. Despite the presence of activated CD4+ T cells, no increase in immunosenescent CD4+ T cells, as defined by the loss of CD28 and/or the acquisition of CD57 was observed in samples from SLE patients. These studies indicate that increased CD70 expression might serve as a useful marker of abnormal T cell activity in SLE.
Key Words: systemic lupus erythematosus • T cells • CD70 • CD27 • SLEDAI
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