{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,9]],"date-time":"2026-01-09T18:59:45Z","timestamp":1767985185705,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]],"date-time":"2025-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753920000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Research, Development, and Innovation Office","award":["NKFIH K 124177"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NKFIH K 124177"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody production and multi-organ involvement. Anifrolumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the type I interferon (IFN) receptor, has been approved for the treatment of SLE. Our aim was to investigate the long-term effects of inhibited type I IFN signaling on circulating follicular helper T subsets (TFH), follicular regulatory T cells (TFR), and B lymphocyte subpopulations, reflecting the ongoing germinal center reactions in SLE patients. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from ten SLE patients before the initiation of anifrolumab treatment, and at months 6 and 12 of the intervention period. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to assess the frequencies of circulating TFH cell subsets, TFR cells, and certain B cell subpopulations. Serological parameters, including autoantibody levels and complement components, were determined as part of the routine diagnostic evaluation. We observed a significant and sustained reduction in the percentage of activated circulating TFH cells. Notably, the frequency of CXCR3\u2212CCR6+ TFH17 cells decreased, whereas the proportion of CXCR3+CCR6\u2212 TFH1 cells increased significantly. Furthermore, the proportion of the IgD\u2212CD27\u2212 double-negative B lymphocytes was also significantly reduced. These findings suggest that anifrolumab therapy attenuates TFH cell activation, which may contribute to its clinical efficacy by modulating germinal center responses in SLE.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26157397","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,5]],"date-time":"2025-08-05T15:56:16Z","timestamp":1754409376000},"page":"7397","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Anifrolumab Attenuates Follicular Helper T Cell Activation in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9098-3869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1d\u00e1m","family":"Di\u00f3s","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Clinical Immunology, Institute of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2466-3971","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1gnes","family":"Gyetvai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Clinical Immunology, Institute of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8843-190X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"G\u00e1bor","family":"Papp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Clinical Immunology, Institute of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T\u00fcnde","family":"Tarr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Clinical Immunology, Institute of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Accapezzato, D., Caccavale, R., Paroli, M.P., Gioia, C., Nguyen, B.L., Spadea, L., and Paroli, M. 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