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CD38, CD81 and BAFFR combined expression by transitional B cells distinguishes active from inactive systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract

In view of its heterogeneous presentation and unpredictable course, clinical management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is difficult. There is a need for biomarkers and diagnostic aids to monitor SLE disease activity and severity prior to, during and after treatment. We undertook this study to search for unique phenotypic patterns in each peripheral blood (PB) B cell subset, capable of distinguishing SLE patients with inactive disease versus SLE patients with active disease versus controls by using an automated population separator (APS) visualization strategy. PB was collected from 41 SLE patients and 28 age- and gender-matched controls. We analyzed the cell surface markers (in a tube CD20/CD27/CD19/CD45/CD38/CD81/BAFFR combination) expression on PB B cell subsets using principal component analysis, implemented in the APS software tool. Overall, our analysis indicates that active SLE can be distinguished from inactive SLE on the basis of a single tube analysis, focused on the decreased expression of CD38, CD81 and BAFFR in transitional B cells. The cluster analysis of immunophenotypic profiles of B cell subsets highlighted disease-specific abnormalities on transitional B cells that emerge as promising surrogate markers for disease activity. Further validation is needed with larger samples and prospective follow-up of patients.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra Grant.

Conflict of interest

None.

Ethical standard

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Blood and Transplantation Center of Coimbra, Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation, Coimbra, Portugal

      Ana Henriques, Isabel Silva, M. Luísa Pais, Hélder Trindade & Artur Paiva

    2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

      Ana Henriques & Luís Inês

    3. Coimbra College of Health Technology, Coimbra, Portugal

      Isabel Silva & Artur Paiva

    4. Rheumatology Department, University Hospital of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

      Luís Inês & José António Pereira da Silva

    5. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

      Luís Inês

    6. ImmunoMetabolic Pharmacology Group, Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

      M. Margarida Souto-Carneiro

    Authors
    1. Ana Henriques
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    2. Isabel Silva
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    3. Luís Inês
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    4. M. Margarida Souto-Carneiro
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    7. José António Pereira da Silva
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    8. Artur Paiva
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Artur Paiva.

    Additional information

    Ana Henriques and Isabel Silva have contributed equally to this study.

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    Henriques, A., Silva, I., Inês, L. et al. CD38, CD81 and BAFFR combined expression by transitional B cells distinguishes active from inactive systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Exp Med 16, 227–232 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-015-0348-3

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-015-0348-3

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