title: Spontaneous production of interleukin-10 by B lymphocytes and monocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) production by B lymphocytes has previously been demonstrated for malignant cells and for in vitro activated normal B cells. Spontaneous in vivo production of IL-10 by normal B lymphocytes has only been demonstrated in mice, in which autoreactive Ly 1 + B cells are involved. In the present study, spontaneous expression of the IL-10 gene by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was investigated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a human disease involving autoreactive B cells. Of the 47 SLE patients tested by coupled reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, 34 scored positive, contrasting with only 1 positive out of 34 normal subjects (p < 0.001). Spontaneous in vitro production of IL-10 by PBMC, determined using an ELISA assay, was 33 times higher in SLE than in controls (2623 +/- 728 pg/ml vs 79.3 +/- 34.5 pg/ml, respectively) (p < 0.001). The level of production of IL-10 in SLE was unrelated to either clinical or biological markers of disease activity. Among PBMC, monocytes and B lymphocytes both contributed to IL-10 production, whereas T cells did not. IL-10 overproduction in SLE suggests that this Th2-type interleukin plays a role in the production of autoantibodies through pathways involving both paracrine production by monocytes and autocrine IL-10 production by autoreactive B cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion Salvador Zubirán, Mexico D.F., México.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Llorente
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Richaud-Patin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wijdenes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alcocer-Varela
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Maillot
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Durand-Gasselin
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Fourrier
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galanaud
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Emilie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016753:Interleukin-10; D004247:DNA