Differential Expression of CD 30 on CD 3 T Lymphocytes in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE ) is an autoimmune systemic disease caused as a result of an imbalance of Th1‐/Th2‐type cytokines. The soluble form of CD 30 ( CD 30s) released from peripheral blood cells has been described as a marker of active disease in Th2‐type immune response as in SLE . However, the expression of CD 30 on CD 3 T lymphocytes from patients with SLE has not been studied yet. Therefore, we have addressed our study to attempt this issue, studying CD 30 expression by flow cytometry on CD 3 T lymphocytes and CD 4/ CD 8 subsets in samples from SLE patients mainly with lupus nephritis. In parallel, we have determined the production of the cytokines IL ‐4 (Th2), IFN γ (Th1), IL ‐10 and TGF β by intracellular staining. Differences between positive CD 30 T cells in healthy controls and patients with SLE were found, with a higher percentage of CD 30‐expressing T cells in patients with SLE ( P  =   0.001). In contrast to healthy controls, CD 30 was mainly expressed on CD 8 T cells from patients with SLE . The intracellular cytokine staining showed that TGF β is the main cytokine expressed in CD 3 T cells from patients with SLE . In addition to this, we have found a positive correlation between CD 30‐expressing T cells and IL ‐4, IFN γ, and immunosuppressive cytokines ( IL ‐10 and TGF β) ( P  < 0.05). These results suggest that CD 30 could play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE and its expression on CD 3 T lymphocytes is not restricted only to Th2‐type response.