Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
Clin Rheumatol. 2017 Oct;36(10):2281-2287. doi: 10.1007/s10067-017-3787-2. Epub 2017 Aug 19.
Monocytes are an important component in the innate immune system. However, studies to date have failed to conclude whether their levels are altered in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We applied the cytodiff counting method and comprehensively measured the circulating levels of distinct white blood cell (WBC) subsets, including CD16+, CD16-, and total monocytes, in 61 SLE patients as well as in 203 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). The absolute number of CD16- monocytes, total monocytes, immature granulocytes, mature neutrophils, total neutrophils, and T cell blasts was significantly higher, that of non-cytotoxic T lymphocytes, cytotoxic T + NK lymphocytes, T + NK lymphocytes, total lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils significantly lower (all p < 0.05), but that of CD16+ monocytes, B lymphocytes, B cell blasts, non-B and non-T cell blasts, and total blasts was not statistically different in SLE patients, as compared to HC. Specifically, among all subsets examined, the percentage of CD16- monocytes and total monocytes was the only one that could discriminate active SLE from quiescent SLE (p = 0.033 and 0.026, respectively). SLE patients with lupus nephritis were also associated with higher levels of circulating CD16- monocytes and total monocytes, in comparison with that of controls (both p < 0.0001). This study suggests the significance of distinct WBC subsets, particularly the differential regulations of monocyte subsets, in the pathogenesis and development of SLE.
单核细胞是先天免疫系统的重要组成部分。然而，迄今为止的研究尚未得出结论，即系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）患者的单核细胞水平是否发生改变。我们应用细胞计数方法，全面测量了 61 例 SLE 患者和 203 例年龄匹配的健康对照者（HC）循环中不同白细胞（WBC）亚群的水平，包括 CD16+、CD16-和总单核细胞。CD16-单核细胞、总单核细胞、不成熟粒细胞、成熟中性粒细胞、总中性粒细胞和 T 细胞母细胞的绝对数显著升高，非细胞毒性 T 淋巴细胞、细胞毒性 T+NK 淋巴细胞、T+NK 淋巴细胞、总淋巴细胞、嗜碱性粒细胞和嗜酸性粒细胞的绝对数显著降低（均 p<0.05），但 CD16+单核细胞、B 淋巴细胞、B 细胞母细胞、非 B 和非 T 细胞母细胞、总母细胞在 SLE 患者中与 HC 相比没有统计学差异。具体而言，在所有检查的亚群中，CD16-单核细胞和总单核细胞的百分比是唯一能够区分活动期 SLE 和静止期 SLE 的指标（分别为 p=0.033 和 0.026）。与对照组相比，狼疮肾炎患者的循环 CD16-单核细胞和总单核细胞水平也更高（均 p<0.0001）。本研究提示了不同 WBC 亚群，特别是单核细胞亚群的差异调节，在 SLE 的发病机制和发展中的重要性。
