{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T16:04:00Z","timestamp":1790697840633,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":14,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010408","name":"Polpharma Scientific Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1\/XX\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1\/XX\/2021"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010408","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Lupus Sci Med"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with SLE have an increased risk of infections and infection-related mortality, which may be associated with disturbances in immune cell populations. Despite extensive research, findings regarding T-cell and B-cell alterations in SLE remain inconsistent. Therefore, we analysed peripheral blood immune cell subpopulations and their molecular profiles in patients with SLE with renal involvement compared with healthy controls (HCs).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The phenotype and gene expression of lymphocytes from patients with SLE and lupus nephritis and healthy donors were assessed using flow cytometry and quantitative PCR. Exploratory multivariate and treatment-sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate global immune patterns and potential treatment-related confounding.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Patients with SLE exhibited a decreased proportion of helper T (Th) cells and an increased percentage of cytotoxic T (Tc) cells compared with HC, accompanied by a reduced CD4\/CD8 ratio. The percentages of CD4\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      CD28\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      and CD8\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      CD28\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T cells were lower and correlated with disease duration, whereas the proportions of activated HLA-DR\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      Th and Tc cells were increased. Serum interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 levels were elevated in patients with SLE. In addition, both T and B cells displayed increased expression of genes associated with inflammatory and interferon-related responses, including TBX21, APOBEC3G, IRF8 and ISG15. Exploratory multivariate profiling suggested coordinated immune activation patterns in SLE, characterised by enhanced T-cell activation, elevated inflammatory cytokines and plasmablast expansion, alongside reduced CD28\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T-cell subsets. Treatment-sensitivity analyses indicated that selected immune parameters may be influenced by glucocorticoid exposure and disease duration.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with SLE with renal involvement show coordinated disturbances in T-cell and B-cell compartments linked to chronic immune activation, interferon-related responses and disease duration. These findings support the relevance of integrated immune profiling in SLE but should be interpreted as exploratory and require validation in larger longitudinal cohorts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/lupus-2026-002068","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T12:05:32Z","timestamp":1784117132000},"page":"e002068","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Integrated immune profiling identifies a coordinated T-cell activation and inflammatory signature in SLE"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Katarzyna A","family":"Lisowska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, Geriatrics and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gda\u0144sk, Gda\u0144sk, 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Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alicja","family":"D\u0119bska-\u015alizie\u0144","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, Transplantology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gda\u0144sk, Gda\u0144sk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Jankowska-Kulawy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Gda\u0144sk, Gda\u0144sk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4392-5594","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Wardowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, Geriatrics and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gda\u0144sk, Gda\u0144sk, 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