Table 2. Percentages of lymphocyte subsets in the juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
| Lymphocyte subset | JSLE (n = 60) | non-LN JSLE (n = 43) | LN JSLE (n = 17) | Longitudinal follow-up JSLE (n = 34) | Healthy controls [37] (n = 42) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active group | Inactive group | |||||
| % CD4+ T cells | 25.24 (17.59–32.18) | 26.15 (17.13–32.64) | 24.99 (17.96–31.86) | 27.74 (18.69–33.67) | 25.41 (21.94–30.82) | 28.74 (26.88–34.95) |
| % CD8+ T cells | 28.11 (22.10–37.81) | 28.43 (22.43–39.09) | 25.31 (19.37–35.64) | 28.33 (22.10–36.13) | 33.52 (30.84–41.74) | 23.87 (20.51–25.71) |
| % Tregs | 0.90 (0.34–2.04) | 1.23 (0.42–2.25) | 0.59 (0.18–0.88) | 1.39 (0.41–2.28) | 1.57 (1.01–2.70) | 1.04 (0.86–1.38) |
| % Tregs within CD4+ cells | 5.68 (3.02–8.55) | 5.91 (3.17–8.68) | 4.03 (1.84–8.06) | 5.55 (3.18–8.36) | 7.81 (5.48–11.92) | 4.01 (3.17–5.14) |
| % γδ T cells | 3.88 (2.80–6.02) | 4.36 (2.88–6.80) | 3.73 (2.64–4.30) | 3.82 (3.09–6.10) | 3.91 (2.45–6.22) | 5.86 (4.53–9.53) |
| % NK cells | 5.73 (3.67–8.68) | 5.68 (4.76–8.77) | 6.25 (2.58–8.39) | 5.82 (5.02–8.24) | 6.79 (3.06–13.35) | 14.10 (10.09–16.99) |
| % NKT cells | 1.42 (0.70–2.25) | 1.47 (0.72–2.33) | 1.25 (0.53–2.21) | 1.38 (0.70–2.50) | 1.29 (0.65–2.90) | 0.84 (0.59–1.50) |
| % CD19+ B cells | 23.42 (13.58–31.16) | 23.11 (13.37–28.14) | 24.80 (14.62–39.63) | 21.45 (13.50–27.21) | 11.04 (7.15–21.46) | 17.08 (14.26–20.36) |
| Medications | ||||||
| Prednisolone, n (%) | 38 (63.33) | 25 (58.14) | 13 (76.47) | 19 (55.88) | 34 (100) | None |
| Prednisolone dose (mg/kg/day) | 0.87 (0.38–1.38) | 0.85 (0.37–1.34) | 0.98 (0.44–1.9) | 0.73 (0.36–1.37) | 0.26 (0.16–0.39) | None |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 18 (30) | 13 (30.23) | 5 (29.41) | 8 (23.53) | 33 (97.06) | None |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 4 (6.67) | 3 (6.98) | 1 (5.88) | 1 (2.94) | 6 (17.65) | None |
| MMF, n (%) | 3 (5) | 2 (4.65) | 1 (5.88) | 1 (2.94) | 3 (8.82) | None |
| Cyclophosphamide, n (%) | 4 (6.67) | 2 (4.65) | 2 (11.76) | 1 (2.94) | 11 (32.35) | None |
| IVIG, n (%) | 1 (1.67) | 1 (2.33) | 0 (0) | 1 (2.94) | 0 (0) | None |
| None, n (%) | 21 (35) | 16 (37.21) | 5 (29.41) | 15 (44.12) | 0 (0) | None |
Data are presented as median (25th–75th percentile). Percentages are given with reference to the total number of lymphocytes, except for the percentage of Tregs within CD4+ T cells given with reference to the total number of CD4+ cells.
JSLE, juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus; LN, lupus nephritis; AIHA, autoimmune hemolytic anemia; Tregs, regulatory T cells; NK cells, natural killer cells; NKT cells, natural killer T cells; MMF, Mycophenolate mofetil; IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin.