Gene Expression Markers in T Cells Help Identify SLE Patient Subtypes

The T cell transcriptome analysis did, however, identify biomarkers that may be a source of immune dysfunction in patients with SLE.

“We expected patients with various clinical signs to show more distinctive expression patterns, as has been shown for rheumatoid arthritis. Our data indicate that the extent of expression alteration in T cells correlates more with the severity of disease rather than which major symptoms were apparent,” write the authors in their discussion.

Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.

Reference

1. Bradley SJ, Suarez-Fueyo A, Moss DR, et al. T cell transcriptomes describe patient subtypes in systemic lupus erythematosus. PLoS One. 2015 Nov 6;10(11):e0141171. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141171. eCollection 2015.