Th Cytokine Profile in Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract Background: Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) is a kind of chronic inflammatory disease characterized by a highly abnormal immune system. This study aimed to detect expression of the Th cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, IFN-γ and TNF-α in the peripheral blood of children with cSLE; clinical symptoms; and a disease index and discuss the relationship between the Th cell cytokine regulatory network and onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in children and disease outcome.Methods: A total of 33 children with cSLE and 30 healthy children were enrolled in this study. Children in the cSLE group were classified into the inactive cSLE group or active cSLE group according to their SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). Th cytokine profiles in peripheral blood of different groups were detected and analyzed.Results: The levels of IL-2, IL-10 and IL-21 in the cSLE group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group (P < 0.05, P<0.01 and P<0.01, respectively). The expression of IL-2, IL-10 and IL-21 in the active cSLE group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group (P<0.05, P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), but IL-22 expression was remarkably lower in the active cSLE group than in the healthy control group (P<0.001). IL-21 in the inactive SLE group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group (P<0.05). The levels of IL-2 and IL-10 in the active cSLE group were significantly higher than those in the inactive cSLE group (P<0.01 and P<0.05). In-depth analysis showed that the expression levels of IL-2 (r=0.382, P=0.028), IL-6 (r=0.514, P=0.002) and IL-10 (r=0.429, P=0.016) were positively correlated with disease activity. Conclusion: This study provides a theoretical basis for the discovery of effective methods to regulate imbalance in T lymphocyte subsets in cSLE, which may open up potential new approaches for the diagnosis of cSLE.