Tim-3 associated with apoptotic NK cells and disease activity in SLE

• Main Authors: Di Zhao, Xiao Yang, Jie Zhang, Yi Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-03-01
• Series: European Journal of Inflammation
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/20587392211000570

T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing molecule-3 (Tim-3) has been found to play important roles in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), however, whether Tim-3 is involved in apoptosis of NK cells in SLE remains unknown. The proportion of CD3 − CD56 + NK cells and the percentage of AnnexinV + NK cells were analyzed by flow cytometry in SLE patients and healthy controls. Tim-3 expression on NK cells was also evaluated by flow cytometry. We firstly observed a decreased proportion of NK cells and an increased proportion of apoptotic NK cells in SLE patients. The proportion of apoptotic NK cells was positively correlated with anti-dsDNA and SLEDAI. Tim-3 expression on NK cells was up-regulated in SLE patients. Further analysis showed that Tim-3 expression on NK cells was negatively correlated with the proportion of apoptotic NK cells, anti-dsDNA and SLEDAI, while positively correlated with the proportion of NK cells. The present results suggest that Tim-3 might play roles in SLE by regulating the apoptosis of NK cells and Tim-3 might serve as a potential target for the treatment of SLE.