{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T14:14:44Z","timestamp":1787062484979,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774051200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"DFG","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFB-TR128 TP B08"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFB-TR128 TP B08"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"DFG","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TR130 TP15"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TR130 TP15"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent evidence suggests that type I interferon (IFN) activity has prognostic relevance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study investigated whether combining IFN activity with elevated peripheral blood plasmablast (PB) levels\u2014another key feature of lupus pathophysiology\u2014improves risk stratification for poor clinical outcomes. Clinical data were prospectively collected at a single lupus center. Flow cytometry was performed on freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells to investigate Sialic acid-binding Immunoglobulin-like Lectin 1 (SIGLEC-1) as a surrogate marker of IFN activity, alongside CD19+CD20\u2212CD27highHLA-DR+ PB frequencies. A total of 1276 samples from 121 patients were analyzed. At baseline, 48.8% of patients exhibited high IFN activity, including 27.3% with concurrent elevation in IFN and PB activity and 21.5% with isolated IFN activity. Patients with simultaneous IFN and PB activity showed higher anti-dsDNA antibody levels, were less frequently in DORIS remission (24.2% vs. 50.0%) and required higher daily prednisolone dosages (6.3 vs. 2.0 mg) than those with isolated IFN activity. During a median follow-up of 4.5 years (range 0.8\u20136.6), these patients experienced more flares (132 vs. 54, OR 1.42), required longer to achieve remission (median 399 vs. 140 days), and had a higher median time-adjusted prednisolone dose (5.6 vs. 3.0 mg). Concurrent elevation in IFN and PB activity identifies SLE patients with a poorer prognosis compared to isolated IFN activity. These findings suggest that combined IFN and PB assessment may improve prognostic stratification and support personalized treatment strategies in SLE.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27062852","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T09:48:42Z","timestamp":1774259322000},"page":"2852","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Increased Type I Interferon Activity with Concurrent Plasmablast Expansion Identifies Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients with Poor Outcomes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Konrad","family":"Speidel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Nephrology and Medical Intensive Care, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingyu","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laleh","family":"Khodadadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benedikt","family":"Sinzinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2173-2397","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jonas","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Nephrology and Medical Intensive Care, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne E.","family":"Beenken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0434-7832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Biesen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerhard","family":"Kr\u00f6nke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3584-5292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Falk","family":"Hiepe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1193-0097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tobias","family":"Alexander","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2326","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00398-2","article-title":"Systemic lupus erythematosus","volume":"403","author":"Hoi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2741","DOI":"10.1093\/rheumatology\/keae631","article-title":"Association of lupus low disease activity state and remission with reduced organ damage and flare in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with high disease activity: A multi-national, longitudinal cohort study","volume":"64","author":"Golder","year":"2025","journal-title":"Rheumatology"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e001363","DOI":"10.1136\/lupus-2024-001363","article-title":"Longitudinal associations of flare and damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus 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