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Recently, Th17 cell-associated responses have received growing attention; however, the role of IL-22 (a cytokines also produced by Th17 cells) in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has not been widely explored. In this study, we analyze the frequencies of IL-22-positive CD4+/CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with SLE and their correlations with disease activity and clinical data. Five-color flow cytometry (FCM) was used to assess IL-22 production of CD4+/CD8+ T cells in PBMCs from 31 patients with SLE and 22 healthy control subjects, following stimulation ex vivo with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin for 4 h. Results showed that the percentages of IL-22-positive CD4+ T cells were increased in the PBMCs of patients with SLE compared with healthy control subjects, whereas there were no significant differences in the percentages of IL-22-positive CD8+ T cells. There was a strong positive correlation between the proportion of CD4+ T cells expressing IL-22 and SLEDAI score (r (s) = 0.65, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the frequencies of IL-22-positive CD4+ T cells were significantly higher in patients with SLE with nephritis than those without nephritis (Z = -2.72, P < 0.01). In conclusion, increased frequencies of IL-22-positive CD4+ T cells in patients with SLE and positive correlation with SLEDAI score and lupus nephritis suggest that this cytokine may be implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease.

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The aim of this study was to compare the mRNA and serum expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy controls. Sixty-two SLE patients and 15 healthy controls were recruited in the study. TWEAK messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 33 of 62 patients was detected by relative quantification RT-PCR. TWEAK concentrations in the sera of all 62 patients were measured by ELISA. TWEAK mRNA expressions in PBMCs were decreased in SLE patients compared with healthy controls. Lower TWEAK mRNA expression was also found in the active SLE patients when compared to inactive ones. However, there was no significant difference between patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and those without. The level of serum TWEAK (sTWEAK) in SLE patients was increased when compared to healthy controls. In addition, the sTWEAK level was higher in SLE patients with vasculitis than those without vasculitis, and so was in comparison between patients with and without headache. Nevertheless, no significant differences were found between active SLE patients and inactive patients, or between LN patients and non-LN SLE patients. In this study, patients with SLE express low levels of TWEAK mRNA but high levels of sTWEAK. Additionally, sTWEAK level was associated with several clinical manifestations of SLE, indicating that TWEAK may play a complex role in SLE.

This study aimed at understanding the HIV prevalence, distribution of HIV risk factors and whether the HIV has spread from high-risk groups to the general population in the Yanyuan and Muli counties, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. A multistage probability method was used to select a representative sample of villages in each county, with stratification by risk employed in the sampling for the Yanyuan county. A real-name registration and confidential method were adopted to collect the information of the participants. Blood specimens were tested for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis C virus. A total of 4,950 subjects participated in the study. Of the participants aged ≥ 15 years, 0.12% self-reported being drug users and 40% were injection drug users; 0.46% had multiple sex partners and the condom use rate was only 26.3% during the last sexual intercourse. HIV, syphilis, and HCV prevalence of Yanyuan county were 0.06% (95% CI: 0-0.142), 0.06% (95% CI: 0-0.142), and 0.15% (95% CI: 0.020-0.280), respectively. HCV prevalence of Muli county was 0.06% (95% CI: 0-0.191), and none was found to be HIV or syphilis positive. Therefore, the rate of HIV infection in Yanyuan and Muli counties is at a low level currently. The Yanyuan county HIV infection rate is similar to the average rate in all of China, and the Muli county rate is below China's average. The HIV epidemic has not spread from high-risk groups to the general population in these two counties.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a recently identified proinflammatory cytokine of the TNF superfamily. Through activation of the fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) receptor, TWEAK regulates cell proliferation, cell death and inflammation. The available evidences have indicated that TWEAK might be a target for therapeutic intervention in renal, vascular injury and neuropathy. Since renal, vascular and neuropsychiatric complications are frequently encountered in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)--a systemic autoimmune disease, TWEAK-Fn14 pathway may be implicated in the pathogenesis of SLE. In this review, we will discuss the TWEAK-Fn14 pathway and the therapeutic potential of modulating this pathway in SLE.

Published data on the association between tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) promoter-308 A/G polymorphism and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk are inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, a meta-analysis was performed. A total of 28 studies including 2,992 cases and 4,326 controls (5,924 cases and 8,484 controls in A versus G comparison) were involved in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was performed for genotypes A/A (recessive effect), A/A+A/G (dominant effect), and A allele in fixed or random effects models. In addition, we also performed a "model-free" analysis by considering the G/G genotype as the reference and estimated the OR for the A/A versus G/G and A/G versus G/G genotype. Overall, an association of TNF-α promoter-308 A/G polymorphism with SLE was found (A versus G: OR = 1.686, 95% CI = 1.400-2.032, P < 0.001; A/A versus A/G+G/G: OR = 3.043, 95% CI = 2.185-4.238, P < 0.001; A/A+A/G versus G/G: OR = 1.822, 95% CI = 1.379-2.407, P < 0.001; A/A versus G/G: OR = 3.686, 95% CI = 2.628-5.172, P < 0.001; A/G versus G/G: OR = 1.691, 95% CI = 1.291-2.215, P < 0.001). However, stratification by ethnicity indicated that the risk A allele was not associated with SLE in Asian (A versus G: OR = 1.207, 95% CI = 0.856-1.702, P = 0.283) and African population (A versus G: OR = 1.225, 95% CI = 0.597-2.516, P = 0.580). In summary, this meta-analysis indicated that TNF-α promoter-308-A/G polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to SLE.

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