Table 5.

Measurements of ER subtype mRNA and protein in freshly isolated systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) T cells.

Samples	ERɑ	ERβ	ERɑ	ERβ	Estradiol pg/ml
	(mRNA)		(Protein)
SLE-1	0.036	0.811	0.62	0.61	166.3
SLE-2	0 026	0.170	0.35	0.85	98.7
SLE-3	0.018	0.443	0.93	0.80	90.3
SLE-4	0.027	0.442	0.29	0.67	86.4
SLE-5	0.083	1.365	0.40	0.87	128.7
SLE-6	0.071	0.370	1.00	0.90	84.5
SLE-7	0.015	0.660	0.31	0.65	98.4
SLE-8	0 024	0.600	0.80	0.98	123.7
SLE-9	0.238	18.15	0.76	0.98	111.6
Median	0.027	0.60	0.62	0.85	98.7

Blood samples were drawn from SLE patients (n = 9) and T cells were purified by negative selection. ER subtype mRNA was measured by real-time PCR and protein in the same T cell sample was quantified by Western blotting. Plasma estradiol was measured at the time of blood draw. The levels of hormone in circulation were within the normal range for women with regular menstrual cycles.

SLEDAI, systemic lupus disease activity index.