Low-dose interleukin-2 treatment selectively modulates CD4(+) T cell subsets in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease characterized by altered balance of activity between effector and regulatory CD4(+) T cells. The homeostasis of CD4(+) T cell subsets is regulated by interleukin (IL)-2, and reduced production of IL-2 by T cells is observed in individuals with SLE. Here we report that treatment with low-dose recombinant human IL-2 selectively modulated the abundance of regulatory T (T-reg) cells, follicular helper T (T-FH) cells and IL-17-producing helper T (T(H)17) cells, but not T(H)1 or T(H)2 cells, accompanied by marked reductions of disease activity in patients with SLE.National Sci-Tech Support Program [2014BAI07B01]; National Basic Research Program of China 973 Program [2014CB541903, 2014CB541901, 2010CB529104]; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [81373117, 31570880, 31530020, 81429003, 81471601]; Beijing Key Laboratory for Rheumatism and Immune Diagnosis [BZ0135]; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences; Priority Research Program of the Shandong Academy of Sciences; Shandong Province Taishan Scholar Program; Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) [GNT1085509]SCI(E)PubMedARTICLEdi.yu@monash.edu; li99@bjmu.edu.cn9991-+2