OBJECTIVE To observe the proportion of peripheral T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to assess the role of steroids on Tfh cells from SLE patients. METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 42 SLE patients and 22 matched healthy subjects were collected to assess proportions of circulating CXCR5(+)PD1(+)/CD4(+) T cells (Tfh), C...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-organ autoimmune disorder that occurs in genetically prone individuals. Autoimmunity could not be simply explained by Th1/Th2 cell paradigm. T helper 17(Th17) cells producing the cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17) may explain the promotion and progression of autoimmune phenomena. This study aimed to investigate the role of Th17cells, IL-17 and interleu...

Natural killer (NK) cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE. Interleukin(IL)-15, an NK-enhancing cytokine, is over-expressed in SLE patients. In the present study, we examined the effect of IL-15 on NK cytotoxicity of SLE patients, and the expression of various activating and inhibitory NK receptors on NK cells from SLE patients in relation to disease activity. We also sough...

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) is an important bone matrix mediator found to have key roles in inflammation and immunity. OPN is a cytokine which can play a number of roles in promoting activation of T lymphocyte, regulating balance between T-helper 1 and T-helper 2, participating in cell-induced immunologic response and stimulating B lymphocyte to express multi-clone antibodies. Overexpression ...

Antibodies to viral double-stranded RNA (ds RNA) have been found in 40% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 14-5% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These antibodies were diagnostically more specific SLE than those directed against artificial polynucleotides, poly I:C and poly A:U. Although not disease specific, high titres of antibody to ds viral RNA were found almost e...

OBJECTIVE To analyse prospectively the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity as well as the clinical relevance of ribosomal P (anti-P) autoantibodies in a large cohort of SLE patients. METHODS The anti-P autoantibodies were evaluated in the serum of 200 Tunisian SLE patients at disease onset and 130 various control subjects by a sensitive immunodot assay. A complete laboratory evaluation and...

OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of antibodies to human fibronectin (anti-Fn) in sera of patients with certain connective tissue diseases and to determine their association with disease activity and the pattern of organ involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS A capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to quantify anti-Fn antibodies in...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Although systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common connective tissue disease affecting the lung, few studies have assessed risk factors that predict pulmonary manifestations. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence of lung manifestations in SLE patients from Western Saudi Arabia by analysing results from high-resolution computed ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the status and contribution of oxidized superoxide dismutase (SOD) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to explore whether oxidized-SOD has a role in disease induction and progression. METHODS This study was performed in the College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between October 2011 and May 2012. The study was designed to expl...

Objectives Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with elevated levels of S100A8/A9, pro-inflammatory proteins mainly secreted by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). The underlying mechanisms for increased S100A8/A9 levels and their relation to the clinical phenotype have not been carefully investigated. We assessed S100A8/A9 and S100A12 levels in SLE patient sera in relat...