Relationship of CD1 expression and disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Objective To investigate CD1 expression as a parameter of disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods The percentage of CD1c+ and CD1d+ cells and lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of 47 SLE patients were tested with flow cytometry. Results The percentages of CD1c+ cells 5.0±1.4, CD1d+ cells 5.4±1.4 and CD20+ cells 15±5 were increased and that of CD4+ cells 30±7 were decreased in SLE patients in active stage, with significant difference from those of the controls (P0.01).No significant difference in the percentages of CD1c+,CD1d+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD20+ cells were seen between stable SLE patients and normal control group (P0.05). Highly significant correlations were found between CD1c expression and serum dsDNA, ACA, C3, and SLEDAI (r=0.36 P0.05, r=0.64 P0.01, r=-0.35 P0.05, r=0.68 P0.01 respectively). While expression of CD1d correlated only with serum dsDNA and SLEDAI (r=0.41 P0.05 and r=0.66 P0.01 respectively).These correlations suggested the close association of CD1 with clinical activity in SLE.Conclusion Determination of CD1 expression in peripheral blood appears to be a parameter for assessing and monitoring disease activity in patients with SLE