Th1/Th2 balance of peripheral T helper cells in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Objective. To analyze the Th1/Th2 balance of peripheral Th cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods. The Th1:Th2 ratio was analyzed in 3 groups: SLE without proteinuria (group I; n ‫؍‬ 23), SLE with proteinuria (group II; n ‫؍‬ 31), and normal controls (group III; n ‫؍‬ 24). Group II patients who had undergone renal biopsy were classified into 3 subgroups based on their renal histopathologic findings. The intracellular cytokine detection method with flow cytometry was used to quantitate Th1 and Th2 cells.Results. There was no difference in the mean Th1:Th2 ratio between SLE patients (groups I and II) and healthy controls (group III). However, the mean value in group II was significantly higher than those in groups I and III. Moreover, within group II, the mean value in SLE patients who had diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis (World Health Organization class IV) was especially high.Conclusion. Although SLE has been considered to be a disease in which Th2 cells predominate, the Th1/Th2 balance of peripheral Th cells in SLE patients in the present study did not show a predominance of these cells. In contrast, among SLE patients with WHO class IV lupus nephritis, there was a strong predominance of Th1.

Th17 cells in systemic lupus erythematosus share functional features with Th17 cells from normal bone marrow and peripheral tissues

“…Especially, those findings may point to the strong fidelity lineage of Th17 in active disease SLE or even a terminal differentiation stage related with a repeated antigen challenge as compared to inactive SLE or normal control groups. Furthermore, consistent with other human studies [31,32] that have demonstrated a lower number of Th1 cells in active SLE patients, our data suggest that the cytokine profile of Th17 cells may be essential for synergistically induced Th1-type cytokines and also potentially be distinct according to the pro-inflammatory environment. Thus, the local cytokine milieu may induce new transcription factors and modify cytokine production even in fully polarized effector T-cell lineages.…”

Cytokine Polymorphisms in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Sjögren's Syndrome

“…This variation may also alter the receptor function because the Met14 variant shows a decreased response to IFN compared to Val14 variant [14], and because IFN induces a differentiation of Th0 cells to Th1 cells, will decreased effect of IFN shift the Th1/Th2 balance towards Th2. As mentioned before, shift toward Th2 is a major feature of SLE [58].…”

IL-10 Regulates Murine Lupus

“…Increased IFN-␥ mRNA and decreased IL-4 gene expression are found in PBMCs taken from SLE patients (5). Th1 cytokines, including IFN-␥, are present in tissue of SLE patients with the most severe disease, with enhanced production of this cytokine by peripheral blood cells and in the kidneys of patients with severe lupus glomerulonephritis, compared with individuals with milder renal disease (6,7). Likewise, in mice with lupus, Th1 cytokines play a dominant role in disease pathogenesis (8).…”