Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of glucocorticoid therapy on the gene expression of Caspase-3 and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand(TRAIL)receptors in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). Methods Peripheral blood CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells of 20 SLE patients before and after prednisone therapy and 10 healthy volunteers were isolated with a magnetic cell sorting system(MACS).The expression of Caspase-3 and TRAIL receptors mRNA in the CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were detected by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results The TRAIL-Rl expression in CD4⁺ T cells of SLE patients significantly declined after therapy(P<0.05).The Caspase-3 expression of CD8⁺ T cells in SLE patients before and after therapy was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(P<0.01, P<0.05, respectively).The CD8⁺ T cells from SLE patients before therapy showed significantly increased expression of TRAIL-R2 compared with those from healthy volunteers(P<0.05). Conclusion These findings suggest that inhibiting T cell apoptosis through regulation of the expression of TRAIL receptors may be one of the mechanisms of glucocorticoid for treatment of SLR.

Key words: Lupus erythematosus, systemic, Caspases, Glucocorticoids, Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand