Suppressor function of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Peripheral mononuclear cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), when incubated for 48 hr with or without concanavalin A (ConA), were found to be capable of inhibiting the pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) secretion by cells from normal individuals. Furthermore, these suppressor cells did not significantly affect on the Ig secretion by autologous B cells from patients with SLE. These results suggest that defective suppressive activity in patients with SLE is not at the T cell level, but, most likely, due to the defect of B cells in recognizing process of the suppressive information from suppressor T cells, caused by in vivo polyclonal B cell activation.