Study On Innate Lymphocytes And Their Subpopulations In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

IntroductionInnate lymphoid cells(ILCs)are a recently discovered congenital lymphocyte population with acquired immune function and are a newly defined immune cell.The cells surface lacks specific antigen receptors,and at the same time has the characteristics of partially adaptive immune cells.In function,it can secrete a large number of cytokines(IFN-?,IL-13,IL-22,etc.)while still passing special mechanisms directly kill target cells.In short,ILCs are a kind of "transboundary" immune cells between innate immunity and adaptive immunity,which play an important biological effect in the body's inflammatory response.The subpopulations of ILCs are classified into ILC1 s,ILC2s and ILC3 s due to the production of cytokines,the use of transcription factors and tissue localization.There has been evidence that ILCs subgroups are abnormal in a variety of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis,ankylosing spondylitis,and psoriasis,which can cause abnormal immune activation and cause chronic inflammation.Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)is a chronic autoimmune disease involving multiple organs that is dysfunctional and cytokine abnormalities due to autonomic tolerance disorders.Innate immunity and adaptability Immunization plays an important role in its pathogenesis.There are no reports of ILCs and SLE.We aimed to study the proportion of different subgroups of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with SLE,in order to further explore the pathogenesis of SLE.Methods51 patients,aged ? 18 years,who fulfilled the 2009 American College of Rheumatology(ACR)revised criteria for the classification of SLE,were enrolled from the Department of Rheumatology,the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.General condition,clinical manifestions and the results of laboratory examination of all the SLE patients were collected.26 contral subjects of healthy volunteers were randomly selected from the Medical Center,the first Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.General condition and the results of laboratory examination of all the volunteers were collected.3-5 mL of venous blood from SLE and control group were collected,peripheral blood mononuclear cells were extracted,and the expression of different subpopulations of ILCs was determined by flow cytometry.Results1.Analysis of the difference in the ratio of peripheral blood ILCs between SLE patients and healthy volunteers.Compared with healthy controls,total ILCs(CD45+CD127+Lin-)in peripheral blood of SLE patients accounted for a higher proportion in the CD45+ cell population(P=0.0035).Different subgroups,the ILC2s(CD45+CD127+Lin-CRTH2+)in the SLE group were less than the control group,while the ILC1s(CD45+CD127+Lin-CRTH2-CD117-)/ILC3s(CD45+CD127+LinCRTH2-CD117+))relatively increased(P < 0.0001).2.To analyze the correlation between the proportion of ILCs in peripheral blood of SLE patients and their biochemical indicators.There was no correlation between the increase and decrease of the proportion of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with SLE and the levels of anti-ds-DNA antibody,ESR and CRP.However,the difference of the ratio of ILCs in the peripheral blood of patients with low complement and normal complement was statistically significant.3.To analyze the correlation between the proportion of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with SLE and their clinical manifestations and activities.The proportion of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with SLE was correlated with the disease activity of patients with SLE(P<0.0001,r2=0.3332).The number of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with SLE with high disease activity is relatively high.The proportion of total ILCs in the peripheral blood of patients with SLE with nephritis was higher in the CD45+ cell population than in those without nephritis(P=0.0002),and the ratio of ILC1s/ILC3 s also showed this difference(P=0.032).ConclusionsWe found a change in the proportion of ILC in the peripheral blood of SLE.Specifically,circulating ILC1 s and ILC3 s were significantly increased,while circulating ILC2 s were significantly reduced in SLE,indicating abnormal ILC homeostasis.And ILCs are associated with low complement levels,disease activity,and nephritis in SLE.