Jin Lu, Ding Meng, Cui Shaoxin, Yang Lin, Zhao Jinwen, He Jingjing, Wang Xiaoping, Chang Fei, Liu Xue, Wang Qun, Jin Hongtao, Ma Jun, Liu Aijing
The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, China.
Hebei Research Center for Stem Cell Medical Transitional Engineering, China.
Cent Eur J Immunol. 2025;50(1):13-23. doi: 10.5114/ceji.2025.149252. Epub 2025 Apr 9.
T cell immuno-metabolic regulation plays a key role in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study aimed to analyze the role of CD4 T cell glucose metabolism in SLE development.
Clinical data and blood samples were collected from 20 untreated SLE patients and healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, sex, and body mass index. After being isolated by magnetic sorting and cultured with anti-CD3/CD28 for 72 h, CD4 T cells were subjected to real-time metabolic analysis. CD4 T cell proliferation and cytokines were measured with cell counting kit-8 and Luminex liquid chip assay, respectively.
Compared to HCs, SLE-CD4 T cells exhibited significantly higher glycolytic capacity and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) (both p < 0.001). Additionally, SLE-CD4 T cells demonstrated increased proliferation rates and elevated cytokine levels in both plasma and culture supernatants (both p < 0.05). OXPHOS and glycolysis of SLE-CD4 T cells were positively correlated with SLE disease activity index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K) and cytokines, and negatively correlated with SLE-CD4 T cell numbers (all p < 0.05).
CD4 T cells from SLE patients showed higher glucose metabolic activity than those from HCs, and the enhanced glucose metabolism of SLE-CD4 T cells was strongly correlated with disease activity, suggesting that glucose metabolic reprogramming plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of SLE.
T细胞免疫代谢调节在系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的发展中起关键作用。本研究旨在分析CD4 T细胞葡萄糖代谢在SLE发展中的作用。
收集20例未经治疗的SLE患者及年龄、性别和体重指数相匹配的健康对照（HCs）的临床资料和血液样本。通过磁性分选分离CD4 T细胞，并用抗CD3/CD28培养72小时后，对其进行实时代谢分析。分别用细胞计数试剂盒-8和Luminex液相芯片分析法检测CD4 T细胞增殖和细胞因子。
与HCs相比，SLE-CD4 T细胞表现出显著更高的糖酵解能力和线粒体氧化磷酸化（OXPHOS）（均p < 0.001）。此外，SLE-CD4 T细胞在血浆和培养上清液中的增殖率均增加，细胞因子水平升高（均p < 0.05）。SLE-CD4 T细胞的OXPHOS和糖酵解与SLE疾病活动指数-2000（SLEDAI-2K）和细胞因子呈正相关，与SLE-CD4 T细胞数量呈负相关（均p < 0.05）。
SLE患者的CD4 T细胞比HCs的CD4 T细胞表现出更高的葡萄糖代谢活性，且SLE-CD4 T细胞增强的葡萄糖代谢与疾病活动密切相关，提示葡萄糖代谢重编程在SLE发病机制中起重要作用。
