RESUMO

Previous reports have suggested that regulatory T cells (Treg) are abnormal in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the present work, we quantified CD4+FOXP3+ Treg cells in patients with SLE and found no quantitative alterations. However, we found a clear defect in suppression assays. Surprisingly, SLE-derived Treg cells exhibited a normal phenotype and functional capacity. Conversely, SLE-derived CD4+CD25(-) effector T cells resisted suppression by autologous and allogeneic regulatory cells. Our findings strongly suggest that the defect in T-cell suppression observed in SLE is because of effector cell resistance and not because of an abnormal regulatory function.

Assuntos

Imunidade Celular , Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico/imunologia , Linfócitos T Reguladores/imunologia , Adulto , Proliferação de Células , Células Cultivadas , Feminino , Citometria de Fluxo , Fatores de Transcrição Forkhead/biossíntese , Fatores de Transcrição Forkhead/genética , Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Subunidade alfa de Receptor de Interleucina-2/imunologia , Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico/genética , Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico/patologia , Masculino , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , RNA/genética , Linfócitos T Reguladores/metabolismo , Linfócitos T Reguladores/patologia