Effects of corticosteroids on natural killer cell activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The effects of corticosteroids on the natural killer (NK) cell activity of human peripheral blood lymphocytes were evaluated. When six untreated female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were compared with fifteen age-matched, corticosteroid-treated female patients, NK activity in the latter was significantly suppressed. Although the administration of high doses seemed to suppress cytotoxicity to a greater extent, there was no close correlation between the daily doses of steroids and NK activity. When cytotoxicity levels were followed before and during corticosteroid therapy in the same patient, NK activity decreased markedly during treatment, particularly in patients on high-dose corticosteroids.