Fig. 2

In vitro effects of serum from SLE patients on T lymphocyte subsets. Relative frequency of events positive for Annexin V in total T lymphocytes (A), helper T lymphocytes (B), Th17 (C), Th1 (D), Th2 (E) and Treg (F) from controls after 24 h of cell culture supplemented or not with human serum or apoptosis-inducing agent Camptothencin (C+). Total T lymphocytes, helper T lymphocytes, Th17 and Th1 from SLE patients behaved similarly to lymphocytes from controls (data not shown) NHS: culture medium with normal human serum; WHS: culture medium without the presence of human serum. C+ : culture medium with 5uM Camptothencin. SLE-serum: culture medium with lupus serum. Relative frequency of events positive for Annexin V in cultures containing Camptothencin for: CD3⁺ T lymphocytes (13.27% ± 8.66); helper CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T lymphocytes (10.54% ± 8.30); Th17 (26.61% ± 17.73), Th1 (26.75% ± 20.27), Th2 (13.34% ± 14.17), and Treg (34.42% ± 29.26). Camptothencin (C+) differed significantly from all other conditions. The results are presented as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001. All comparisons were analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparison test