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Increased expression of human T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule-4 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with system lupus erythematosus

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 7, pages 152–156 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic autoimmune disease. Innate and adaptive immunity cooperatively contribute to the development of SLE. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) have been suggested to link innate and adaptive immunity. T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule-4 (Tim-4; also known as Timd4), expressed primarily on the surface of APCs, is a member of the TIM family, a recently described group of molecules that have received much attention as potential regulators of the immune system. In this study, we used quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to examine the mRNA expression of Tim-4 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from SLE patients and further analyzed the correlation between the expression of Tim-4 and Tim-1 (a potential ligand for Tim-4) in PBMCs and serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels. The results showed that Tim-4 mRNA expression in PBMCs was significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls, especially those patients in the active phase of disease. Moreover, Tim-4 mRNA levels were closely correlated with Tim-1 mRNA levels in PBMCs and with serum TNF-α levels in SLE patients but not in the control group. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Tim-4 may be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30872298) and Independent Innovation Foundation of Shandong University (No. 2009TS115).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Immunology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, China

    Peiqing Zhao, Liyun Xu, Xiaohong Liang, Jianni Qi, Peng Liu, Chun Guo, Lining Zhang, Chunhong Ma & Lifen Gao

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratories, Wujing Shandong Zongdui Hospital, Jinan, China

    Piming Wang

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Correspondence to Lifen Gao.

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Zhao, P., Xu, L., Wang, P. et al. Increased expression of human T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule-4 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with system lupus erythematosus. Cell Mol Immunol 7, 152–156 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2009.118

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