Two separate effects contribute to regulatory T cell defect in systemic lupus erythematosus patients and their unaffected relatives.

ABSTRACT: Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)⁺ regulatory T cells (T_regs ) are functionally deficient in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), characterized by reduced surface CD25 [the interleukin (IL)-2 receptor alpha chain]. Low-dose IL-2 therapy is a promising current approach to correct this defect. To elucidate the origins of the SLE T_reg phenotype, we studied its role through developmentally defined regulatory T cell (T_reg ) subsets in 45 SLE patients, 103 SLE-unaffected first-degree relatives and 61 unrelated healthy control subjects, and genetic association with the CD25-encoding IL2RA locus. We identified two separate, uncorrelated effects contributing to T_reg CD25. (1) SLE patients and unaffected relatives remarkably shared CD25 reduction versus co

SUBMITTER: Costa N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5543470 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature