Upregulation of membrane-bound CD40L on CD4+ T cells in women with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

R Belkhir, N Gestermann, M Koutero, R Seror, J Tost, X Mariette, C Miceli-Richard

Index: Scand. J. Immunol. 79(1) , 37-42, (2014)

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Abstract

Epigenetic deregulation of genes encoded on the X chromosome as reported for CD40L in lupus could explain the female predominance of autoimmune diseases. We compared CD40L expression on CD4(+) T cells from primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) women and healthy controls and investigated DNA methylation patterns of the promoter and enhancer regions of CD40L. The expression of CD40L on activated CD4(+) T cells was higher in patients with pSS than controls after phorbolmyristate acetate and ionomycin activation (P = 0.02). CD40L mRNA level in CD4(+) T cells did not differ between patients with pSS and controls and was similar in both groups in cultures treated with the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine C. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed no significant differences in methylation profiles between patients and controls. Inducible membrane-bound CD40L on CD4(+) T cells is increased in patients with pSS but was not related to epigenetic deregulation by demethylation patterns of the regulatory regions of CD40L.© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.