Case Report: Extracorporeal photopheresis for cutaneous lupus erythematosus induces putatively atheroprotective B and T cell responses.

ABSTRACT: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) involves the reinfusion of autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes rendered apoptotic by in vitro exposure to psoralen and ultraviolet A light. Antigenic determinants presented by apoptotic lymphocytes, primarily T cells, elicit immunomodulatory responses that have shown therapeutic benefit in several conditions, including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, graft-versus-host disease, and various inflammatory/autoimmune disorders. We treated with ECP a 41-year-old woman diagnosed with cutaneous lupus erythematosus and concomitant hypercholesterolemia, achieving a marked improvement of skin lesions. A study in hypercholesterolemic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice demonstrated that immunization with syngeneic apoptotic thymocytes, a process mimicking ECP, indu

SUBMITTER: Visentini M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12901466 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature