Introduction: Epigenetic alterations in pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have gained more attention recently in adults. We assessed the methylation of CD70 promoter, a costimulatory molecule on T cells, in juvenile SLE (JSLE), and compared this to that found in controls and the literature of adult SLE patients.

Methods: DNA methylation status was evaluated on peripheral blood from JSLE patients and healthy controls.

Results: Twenty-five patients with JSLE and 24 healthy controls were compared. JSLE patients had lower unmethylated CpG islands compared to the control group (mean ± SD; 0.78 ± 0.42 vs 10503.80 ± 39796.95). However, the difference was not significant (P-value; 0.22).

Conclusion: Despite hypomethylation of CD70 gene promoter in CD4+ T-cells from adult patients with SLE, no statistically significant differences observed in patients with JSLE compared with healthy controls. This may suggest a mechanism different in JSLE patients than in adults.

简介：系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）发病机制中的表观遗传学改变最近在成年人中引起了更多关注。我们评估了青少年SLE（JSLE）中CD70启动子（T细胞上的一种共刺激分子）的甲基化，并将其与对照组和成年SLE患者的文献中的甲基化进行了比较。

方法：评估JSLE患者和健康对照者外周血的DNA甲基化状态。

结果：比较了25例JSLE患者和24名健康对照者。与对照组相比，JSLE患者具有较低的未甲基化CpG岛（平均值±SD； 0.78±0.42与10503.80±39796.95）。但是，差异不显着（P值； 0.22）。

结论：尽管成年SLE患者CD4 + T细胞中CD70基因启动子甲基化不足，但与健康对照组相比，JSLE患者中没有观察到统计学上的显着差异。这可能表明JSLE患者的机制与成人不同。