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Prevalence of ZAP-70, LAT, SLP-76, and DNA methyltransferase 1 expression in CD4+ T cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract

T cells from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients exhibit defective function of CD4+ T cells that can be responsible for improper activation of B cells and antibody biosynthesis against host antigens. We compared the level of ZAP-70, LAT, and SLP-76, transcripts and proteins in CD4+ T cells from SLE patients (n = 22) and healthy individuals (n = 15). We also determined DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) protein content in CD4+ T cells of SLE patients. The CD4+ T cells were isolated by positive biomagnetic separation technique. The quantitative analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA) was performed by reverse transcription and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) SYBR Green I system. The protein level in the CD4+ T cells was determined by Western blotting analysis. We found that the LAT protein level was significantly higher in SLE CD4+ T cells than in controls (P = 0.006). Western blot analysis revealed that ZAP-70 protein content in SLE CD4+ T cells may be reciprocally correlated with disease activity expressed in SLEDAI scale (R = −0.623, P = 0.002) or number of affected organ systems (R = −0.549, P = 0.008). We also observed reciprocal correlation between DNMT1 protein content in CD4+ T cells and disease activity scored with SLEDAI scale (R = −0.779, P = 0.001) or number of affected organ systems (R = −0.617, P = 0.019), respectively. Our findings might indicate that LAT, ZAP-70, and DNMT1 protein levels in CD4+ T cells can be associated with SLE disease.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by grant nos. 2P05B01927 and 2P05B18929 from Polish Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology.

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Correspondence to Paweł P. Jagodzinski.

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Januchowski, R., Wudarski, M., Chwalińska-Sadowska, H. et al. Prevalence of ZAP-70, LAT, SLP-76, and DNA methyltransferase 1 expression in CD4+ T cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Rheumatol 27, 21–27 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-007-0644-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-007-0644-8

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