Objective To clarify the relation between the expression of Foxp3 in peripheral blood and plasma transforming growth factor betal (TGF-β1) and the activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Foxp3 mRNA expression of 28 active SLE patients, 13 inactive SLE patients and 16 healthy controls was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Active SLE patients were followed up; Foxp3 mRNA expression of 20 active patients was measured in the stable status and the plasma TGF-β1 was measured by ELISA in the active and stable status. Results The active SLE patients showed reduced levels of Foxp3 mRNA than the inactive SLE patients (P<0.01) and the healthy controls(P<0.01). Expression of Foxp3 mRNA and the plasma level of TGF-β1 in 20 SLE patients were both higher in stable status than in active status, Conclusion The expressions of Foxp3 mRNA in peripheral blood and TGF-β1 in plasma has significant inverse corelation with disease activity, which suggests that regulatory T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Objective To compare the expression level of interferon regulator factor 5 (IRF5) of the health controls and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and analyze the relationship between IRF5 and SLE disease activity. Methods Peripheral blood monoeytes (PBMCs) from SLE patients and healthy donors were separated with Ficoll density gradient eentrifugation and total cellular RNA was isolated with Trizol from the PBMCs, the mRNA was reverse transcripted to cDNA. Real-time PCR was applied to determine the expression level of IRFS. The expression level of IRF5 between the two groups were compared. The correlations of expression level of IRF5 with SLE disease activity and other laboratory or clinical parameters of SLE patients were analyzed. Results The level of IRF5 was (2.1±2.2) in SLE patients and (1.5±1.2) in healthy controls, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.161). And the levels of IRF5 in SLE patients were significantly correlated with their SLEDAI (r=0.616,P<0.01), but not correlated with other parameters such as bemoglobulin complements, immunoglobulin etc. Anti-dsDNA antibody positive patients had significantly higher expression of IRF5 compared to the anti-dsDNA-antibedy-negative patients. The IRF5 mRNA levels of SLE patients with fever or neuropsyehiatric symptoms were significantly higher than those of patients free of neuropsychiatrie involvement. Conclusion High expression level of 1RF5 may contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE in disease activity and antibody production.

Objective:To establish the murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) model of chronic graft versus host diseases(cGVHD). To analyze the pathological changes and serological and immunological features in the animals. Methods: Female (C57BL/10?DBA/2)F1 hybrids aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into model group and healthy controls (HC). Lymphocytes from female DBA/2 were injected intravenously to the model group on days 0, 3 and 8,while PBS were injected to the HC under the same condition as a control group. Bradford was applied to monitor the development of albuminuria quantitively. Sera were tested by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) for the presence of autoantibodies. To compare the differences of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells between the two groups by flow cytometry (FCM) and the differences in the expression of Foxp3 by real time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The kidneys of model mice were removed in the 12th week and were made frozen sections for direct immunofluorescence(DIF)and paraffin imbedding for PASM staining. Results: The titers of proteinuria in model group in the 6th week, 8th week, 10th week, and 12th week were significantly higher than those of the HC groups(P=0.004, 0.005,respectively). The titers of anti-dsDNA and anti-nucleosome antibodies were significantly increased in the model group compared with the HC (P