Single-cell profiling unveils nephritis-related circulating immunological signatures in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

ABSTRACT: Lupus nephritis (LN), the most severe complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), arises from systemic immune dysregulation and renal damage. While renal immune perturbations are well-studied, systemic signatures specific to LN pathogenesis remain unclear. Integrated single-cell RNA and immune repertoire analysis of 177,259 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and SLE patients (including active LN and non-nephritis controls) revealed LN-specific circulating immune signatures, including κ light-chain preference in naive B cells and distinct clonal expansion in CD8⁺ effector T cells. These clonally expanded CD8⁺ effector T cells exhibited transcriptional variations indicating increased migratory capacity and exhaustion, along with prefe

SUBMITTER: Liu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12868680 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature