The classification of SLE patients was based on the 2012 guidelines (10 (link)). All SLE subjects (n = 7, female, mean age 33 ± 13 years, SLE disease activity (SLEDAI) >10) and healthy controls (n = 12, male/female = 6/6, mean age 34 ± 9 years) were recruited from outpatient clinics or from among the medical staff in Shenzhen People’s Hospital (Shenzhen, China). No patient had been treated with an immune suppressant within the previous three months. The human sample studies and procedures were approved by the ethics committees of both Shenzhen People’s Hospital and Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (Guangzhou, China) (LL-KY-2019590) with informed written consent.
Eight milliliters of peripheral venous blood was drawn from both SLE patients and control subjects, followed by the addition of Ficoll–Hypaque solution (GE Healthcare, Switzerland) and density-gradient centrifugation. Red blood cell (RBC) lysis buffer was added to eliminate the remaining RBCs, and chilled PBS was used to wash the PBMCs. After quantification with a cell counting plate, PBMCs were stored on ice for further analysis.
Eight milliliters of peripheral venous blood was drawn from both SLE patients and control subjects, followed by the addition of Ficoll–Hypaque solution (GE Healthcare, Switzerland) and density-gradient centrifugation. Red blood cell (RBC) lysis buffer was added to eliminate the remaining RBCs, and chilled PBS was used to wash the PBMCs. After quantification with a cell counting plate, PBMCs were stored on ice for further analysis.
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