CD107a+ (LAMP-1) Cytotoxic CD8+ T-Cells in Lupus Nephritis Patients

Anika Wiechmann; Benjamin Wilde; Bartosz Tyczynski; Kerstin Amann; Wayel H Abdulahad; Andreas Kribben; Karl Sebastian Lang; Oliver Witzke; Sebastian Dolff

doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.556776

CD107a⁺ (LAMP-1) Cytotoxic CD8⁺ T-Cells in Lupus Nephritis Patients

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Mar 23:8:556776. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.556776. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nephrology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
² Department of Medical Intensive Care I, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
³ Department of Nephropathology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
⁴ Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
⁶ Institute of Immunology, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
⁷ Department of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Abstract

Cytotoxic CD8⁺ T-cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of CD107a (LAMP-1) on cytotoxic CD8⁺ T-cells in SLE-patients in particular with lupus nephritis. Peripheral blood of SLE-patients (n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 21) was analyzed for the expression of CD314 and CD107a by flow cytometry. Kidney biopsies of lupus nephritis patients were investigated for the presence of CD8⁺ and C107a⁺ cells by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. The percentages of CD107a⁺ on CD8⁺ T-cells were significantly decreased in SLE-patients as compared to healthy controls (40.2 ± 18.5% vs. 47.9 ± 15.0%, p = 0.02). This was even more significant in SLE-patients with inactive disease. There was a significant correlation between the percentages of CD107a⁺CD8⁺ T-cells and SLEDAI. The evaluation of lupus nephritis biopsies showed a significant number of CD107a⁺CD8⁺ T-cells mainly located in the peritubular infiltrates. The intrarenal expression of CD107a⁺ was significantly correlated with proteinuria. These results demonstrate that CD8⁺ T-cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus have an altered expression of CD107a which seems to be associated with disease activity. The proof of intrarenal CD107a⁺CD8⁺ suggests a role in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis.

Keywords: CD107a; LAMP-1; SLE; cytotoxic T-cells; lupus nephritis.