Intravascular neutrophil activation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): dissociation between increased expression of CD11b/CD18 and diminished expression of L-selectin on neutrophils from patients with active SLE.

Previous studies have shown that neutrophils in the circulation of patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are activated as judged by their increased surface expression of the beta 2-integrin CD11b/CD18. Since activation of neutrophils leads to altered expression of another adhesion molecule, L-selectin (LS), we examined neutrophils from patients with SLE for changes in the expression of CD11b/CD18 and LS by cytofluorographic analysis of immunofluorescent-labeled cells. Overall there was no difference between surface expression of CD11b/CD18 on neutrophils from SLE patients or controls [mean fluorescence 225 +/- 26 vs 225 +/- 13 relative fluorescence units (RFU), respectively]. However, as previously reported, neutrophils from patients with more active disease (activity score > or = 3, UCH Middlesex activity score) expressed greater CD11b/CD18 than neutrophils from controls (319 +/- 40 RFU, P < 0.03, n = 9) or from patients with less active disease (193 +/- 10 RFU, P < 0.006). Indeed, CD11b/CD18 expression correlated directly with disease activity (r = 0.54, P < 0.02). Stimulation of neutrophils ex vivo with the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (100 nM) induced up-regulation of CD11b/CD18 in cells from both SLE patients and controls (205 +/- 12% vs 239 +/- 15% of basal, respectively), but neutrophils from the most active patients (score > or = 3) increased CD11b/CD18 expression less than controls (175 +/- 12% of basal, P < 0.003, n = 9). The magnitude of the stimulated increment in expression of CD11b/CD18 on neutrophils correlated inversely with SLE activity (r = -0.64, P < 0.003, n = 20). Surprisingly, we observed no change in LS expression on neutrophils from SLE patients compared to controls (143 +/- 14 vs 141 +/- 16 RFU, respectively) even in patients with the highest activity indices (154 +/- 21 RFU). In contrast to CD11b/CD18, there was no correlation between LS expression and disease activity (r = 0.12, P = NS). Stimulation of neutrophils reduced the expression of LS similarly in both controls and SLE patients (67 +/- 3% vs 58 +/- 4% reduction, respectively) and did not correlate with disease activity (r = 0.07, P = NS, n = 20). These results show, for the first time, that changes in CD11b/CD18 expression do not correlate with LS expression on neutrophils from patients with active SLE.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)