The T lymphocytes of patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exhibit impaired capping of the surface molecules CD3, CD4, and CDS and a defective CAMP-dependent pathway. Since the mobility of these molecules is regulated in part by CAMP, we sought to determine whether there is a specific defect(s) along the T cell cAMP pathway that contributes to the persistent capping disorder observed during inactive SLE. The data suggest that a defect may exist at the level of CAMP-dependent protein kinase activation or at a point distally. We propose that a disorder of CAMPdependent protein kinase activity might account for the defect of capping observed in both the CD3,CD4 (helperlinducer) and CD3,CDS (suppressor) subsets observed in SLE. (2-14), the genesis of the aberrant immune response remains uncertain. It has been demonstrated that autoantibodies directed against cell surface molecules of mononuclear cells can modify the immune response in SLE by interfering with interactions between cells (15).
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by disordered humoral and cellular immunity ( I ) . Although several functional immune defects of mononuclear cells have been identified