Perforin expression on peripheral lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and the effect of glucocorticosteroid on its expression / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the quantity of perforin (PF) expressed on peripheral lymphocytes of active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and its distribution in lymphocytes subsets. The effect of glucocorticosteroid on PF expression is also explored. Methods Phenotype analysis of peripheral lymphocytes was carried out by flow cytometry. SLE patients with SLEDAI≥10 (n=16) and normal controls (n=12) were enrolled into this study. The PF expressed on the iymphocytes of SLE patients with disease flares (n=10) Was studied before and after glucocorticosteroid treatment. Results SLE patients with active disease were characterized by higher proportions of PF-positive lymphocytes and higher perforin density. PF and CD8 double positive T cell proportions was evidently increased. The proportions of PF-positive lymphocytes was correlated to SLEDAI (r=0.673). After a short period of glucocorticosteroid therapy, a reduced expression of PF was observed. Conclusion There is an increased expression of perforin in peripheral lymphocytes from SLE patients with active disease. CD8 positive T cell subsets expand significantly in those patients. In addition, the frequency of PF-positive lymphocytes is correlated with SLEDAI. Finally, glucocorticosteroid inhibits the expression of perforin.