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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a representative autoimmune disease characterized by multiple organ manifestations but is molecularly and genetically heterogeneous which makes difficult to manage every case based on one kinetic molecular theory. We, therefore, have tried to obtain a broader perspective on the molecular heterogeneity in SLE by immunophenotyping and found that patients with active SLE can be divided into 3 subgroups based on T cell heterogeneity. Although immunophenotypic features were different even among patients with similar clinical features, patients resistant to treatment were most frequently seen in the follicular helper T cell-dominant group. Because belimumab is only approved targeted therapy for SLE, the concept was encompassed with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) for which multiple biologics are approved. The obtained results suggest the potential for precision medicine via the strategic selection of different biologics based on the phenotypic differences in peripheral helper T cells in individual patients with PsA. Thus, subgrouping heterogeneous diseases could provide good bases for precision medicine, which would encourage treatment strategies of diseases with high clinical and molecular heterogeneity such as SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH) is a rare but fatal clinical syndrome, characterized by severe immune dysfunction and overwhelming inflammatory response. However, the host immune signature and also its role in predicting the clinical outcome are not fully described. The present study aims to investigate the host immune status of sHLH patients in the early stage of the disease, including lymphocyte subsets, phenotypes and cytokines, and also to explore its clinical value in prognosis. Sixty-four patients with sHLH admitted to a tertiary hospital in central China between 2018 and 2022 were enrolled, of which 21 were deceased. The subsets and phenotypes of lymphocytes, and the levels of cytokines in serum were analyzed. In patients with sHLH, the percentages of total T cells, CD8+ T cells, HLA-DR+ T cells, HLA-DR+CD8+ T cells, CD45RO+CD4+ T cells, and the levels of IL-1β, IL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α were significantly increased, while the percentages of CD4+ T cells, NK cells, CD45RA+CD4+ T cells, CD45RA+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, the counts of total T cells, total B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, NK cells, and the ratio of CD4+ T/CD8+ T cells were significantly decreased, compared with healthy controls (HC). In addition, dysregulation of host immune response and high inflammatory status were more obvious in deceased patients than that of survivors. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that lower levels of CD4+ T cells count and CD28+CD4+ T cells percentage, but higher levels of NK cells percentage and IL-1β were poor prognostic indicators of sHLH. The evaluation of immunological markers has critical value for selecting prognostic markers and potential treatment target among adults with sHLH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lifetime exposure to benzene is associated to a variety of blood disorders, and except for the risk of cancer, almost nothing is known concerning health impairment in individuals who are no longer exposed. In Brazil, this exposure is one of the serious problems in workplaces, and many workers have been laid off their jobs due to this intoxication, particularly in the State of Bahia, the largest producer of benzene in Latin America, which is the area of this study. From a larger study to describe health effects and genetic polymorphisms among workers with chronic benzene poisoning (CBP), this previous specific investigation analyzes the association between CBP and the pattern of sub-populations of lymphocytes. The study was performed with a CBP group (n =24) and a control group with other occupational diseases (n =24); both were selected at the Workers Health Study Center in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Clinical and epidemiologic variables were collected from medical records and from a detailed questionnaire. The average age was similar in the two groups (51.1 and 50.7, respectively). Analyzing the mean proportions of the sub-populations of lymphocytes, statistically significant differences were found for T cytotoxic cells (TCD8) (27.9; 19.4; p =0.002) and T helper memory cell (CD4CD45RO) (31.2; 37.0; p =0.015), respectively, for the CBP group and control group. These results should be viewed with caution because of the small sample size, but they strengthen a previous impression that workers exposed to benzene have their immune system impaired, even in the long term, which may contribute to some disorders and carcinogenesis process. These workers must be strictly followed up in a medical surveillance program. Although this problem has been known for a long time, this is the first attempt to study these specific effects in Brazil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dexamethasone treatment on the immune system of weanling piglets. Piglets were administered dexamethasone (DEX; 1mg/kg, IM) every 12h for 2 consecutive days (short-term experiment) or DEX (1mg/kg, IM) daily for 2 weeks (long-term experiment). The relative percentage of CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in both short- and long-term DEX-treated groups compared to their control groups. The percentage of IgM+ cells in PBMCs of the long-term DEX-treated group was greatly increased (P<0.05) in comparison to the control group. The results of this study indicate that short-term DEX-treatment increases leucocyte function; however, long-term DEX-treatment depresses leucocyte function, especially that of CD8+ T cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]