Expression of c-kit receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective： To determine the expression of c-kit receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMCs） in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE）, and analyze the relationship between the c-kit expression level of PBMCs and clinical parameters. Methods： Peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 47 patients with SLE and 21 healthy volunteers were collected. Expression of c-kit mRNA in PBMCs were determined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. The protein of c-kit receptor （CDllT） in PBMCs was measured by flow cytometry. Results： Expression of c-kit receptor protein and mRNA in patients with active or inactive SLE （ n = 47） were significantly higher than those in controls. The c-kit receptor of PBMCs in SLE patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls （ n = 21 ）, the c-kit receptor of PBMCs in active patients （ n = 27） were significantly higher than those in inactive patients （ n = 20） and there was no significant difference was found between patients with inactive SLE and healthy controls（ P 〉 0.05）. The c-kit receptor of PBMCs in SLE have significant association with activity index. Conclusion： Production of c-kit receptor is aberrantly increased in PBMCs in patients with SLE. C-kit receptor might be more closely related to the clinical parameters in SLE patients, which might reflect the clinical status of SLE patients.