Objective To analyze the distribution and difference of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in patients with lupus nephritis (LN), and to explore the clinical significance. Methods There is a retrospective analysis was performed on the data of 106 patients who were diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and pathologically confirmed as LN by renal biopsy from January 2020 to December 2022 in Anhui Provincial Hospital. The data included clinical data, pathological data, and related laboratory indicators. The proportion of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets was measured by flow cytometry, and the distribution of different lymphocyte subsets and their relationship with clinical phenotype was analyzed. Results Among the 106 patients with LN, the proportion of CD3+T cells was (75.6±10.0)%, of which, the decrease in the proportion of CD4+T cells accounted for 36cases(34.0%), the increase in the proportion of CD8+T cells accounted for 55 cases(51.9%), the decrease in the proportion of CD19+B cells accounted for 23 cases(21.7%), and the increase of it accounted for 13 cases (12.3%), and the decrease in the proportion of NK cells accounted for 45 cases(42.5%). The proportion of CD3+T cells was negatively correlated with activity index(AI), systemic lupus erythematosus activity index(SLEDAI) , immunoglobulin M(IgM) and anti-C1q antibody (r=-0.250, -0.241, -0.207, -0.291;P<0.05), while positively correlated with complement C3(r=0.238;P< 0.05). The proportion of CD4+T cells was negatively correlated with urinary β2-microglobulin (r=-0.259;P<0.05) and positively correlated with IgA (r= 0.193;P< 0.05). The proportion of CD8+T cells was negatively correlated with IgG, IgA, IgM anderythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)(r=-0.216, -0.248, -0.279, -0.228;P< 0.05). The proportion of CD19+B cells was negatively correlated with complement C3 and C4 (r=-0.257, -0.214;P< 0.05) , while positively correlated with SLEDAI, IgG, anti-nucleosome antibody, anti-C1q antibody and anti-dsDNA antibody (r=0.200, 0.204, 0.241, 0.271, 0.264;P< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between CD16+CD56+NK cells and clinical phenotypes(P>0.05). Conclusions The proportion of T and B lymphocyte subsetsin LN patients is correlated with the clinical indicators such as immunoglobulin, complement, lupus activity index and SLEDAI, which is meaningful for disease prognosis, and the determination of T and B lymphocyte subsets ratio may help to determine the severity of LN. |