Interferon-inducible gene expression signature in peripheral blood cells of patients with severe lupus
- Emily C. Baechler†,
- Franak M. Batliwalla‡,
- George Karypis§,
- Patrick M. Gaffney†,
- Ward A. Ortmann†,
- Karl J. Espe†,
- Katherine B. Shark†,
- William J. Grande†,
- Karis M. Hughes†,
- Vivek Kapur¶,
- Peter K. Gregersen‡, and
- Timothy W. Behrens†,‖
- Departments of †Medicine, §Computer Science and Engineering, and ¶Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455; and ‡Center for Genomics and Human Genetics, North Shore Long Island Jewish Research Institute, Manhasset, NY 11030
-
Communicated by Martin G. Weigert, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (received for review September 4, 2002)
Abstract
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems. We used global gene expression profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to identify distinct patterns of gene expression that distinguish most SLE patients from healthy controls. Strikingly, about half of the patients studied showed dysregulated expression of genes in the IFN pathway. Furthermore, this IFN gene expression “signature” served as a marker for more severe disease involving the kidneys, hematopoetic cells, and/or the central nervous system. These results provide insights into the genetic pathways underlying SLE, and identify a subgroup of patients who may benefit from therapies targeting the IFN pathway.
Footnotes
-
↵ ‖ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: behre001{at}umn.edu.
- Abbreviations:
- SLE,
- systemic lupus erythematosus;
- PBMC,
- peripheral blood mononuclear cell;
- AD,
- average difference;
- ACR,
- American College of Rheumatology
- Copyright © 2003, The National Academy of Sciences
