Phenotypic and functional similarities between 5-azacytidine-treated T cells and a T cell subset in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Antigen-specific CD4+ T cells treated with DNA methylation inhibitors become autoreactive, suggesting a novel mechanism for autoimmunity. To test whether this mechanism might be involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), phenotypic markers for the autoreactive cells were sought.

Methods: Cloned normal T cells were treated with the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) and studied for altered gene expression.