Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
High-dimensional analysis of T-cell profiling variations following belimumab treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors' conclusion
The study suggests an association between BEL treatment and variations in T cells, particularly Tregs, in SLE pathologies involving various immune cells.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with SLE; peripheral blood T cells (CD3+)
- Participants
- 22 vs 20
- Comparison
- Belimumab (BEL)-treated SLE vs non-BEL-treated SLE
- BELn = 22
- Non-BELn = 20reference
- Outcome
- T-cell clusters (TCLs, % of CD3+) significantly associated with BEL treatment (BEL-TCL)
Methodological detailsmass cytometry (25 marker panels), unsupervised machine-learning clustering (FlowSOM), linear mixed-effects model, time-series data
- Mass cytometry (25 marker panels)
- Unsupervised machine-learning clustering (FlowSOM)
- Linear mixed-effects model
- Time-series data
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
BEL-associated T-cell clusters (five BEL-TCLs: TCL 04, 07, 11, 12 and 27)
Increased proportion of Treg-like cluster TCL11 with BEL
coef=0.404
p=0.037
TCL27 increased, inversely correlating with baseline C3 levels
coef=0.222
p=0.037
Further findings
Clinical outcomes
- Decrease in daily prednisolone use
- coef=−0.1769, p=0.00074
- Increase in serum CH50
- coef=0.4653, p=0.003
- Increase in serum C3
- coef=1.1047, p=0.00001
- Increase in serum C4
- coef=0.2990, p=0.00157
Treg phenotypes and T-cell subset/Treg ratios (secondary analysis)
- Increase in Tregs
- coef=1.749, p=0.0044
- Elevated proportions of Tregs with inhibitory function (fTregs)
- coef=0.7294, p=0.0178
- Change in peripheral helper T cells/fTreg ratio
- coef=−4.475, p=0.0319
- Change in T helper 17/fTreg ratio
- coef=−6.7868, p=0.0327
- Variation in TIM-3 expression
- coef=0.2422, p=0.039
Original publication
High-dimensional analysis of T-cell profiling variations following belimumab treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus Sci Med. Published 6 October 2023. doi:10.
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