Compensatory T-cell regulation in unaffected relatives of SLE patients, and opposite IL-2/CD25-mediated effects suggested by coreferentiality modeling.

ABSTRACT: In human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), diverse autoantibodies accumulate over years before disease manifestation. Unaffected relatives of SLE patients frequently share a sustained production of autoantibodies with indiscriminable specificity, usually without ever acquiring the disease. We studied relations of IgG autoantibody profiles and peripheral blood activated regulatory T-cells (aTregs), represented by CD4(+)CD25(bright) T-cells that were regularly 70-90% Foxp3(+). We found consistent positive correlations of broad-range as well as specific SLE-associated IgG with aTreg frequencies within unaffected relatives, but not patients or unrelated controls. Our interpretation: unaffected relatives with shared genetic factors compensated pathogenic effects by aTregs engaged in parallel

SUBMITTER: Fesel C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3315511 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature