Estradiol differentially regulates calreticulin: a potential link with abnormal T cell function in systemic lupus erythematosus?

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that affects women nine times more often than men. The present study investigates estradiol-dependent control of the calcium-buffering protein, calreticulin, to gain further insight into the molecular basis of abnormal T cell signaling in SLE T cells.

Methods: T cells were purified from blood samples obtained from healthy females and SLE patients. Calreticulin expression was quantified by real-time polymerase chain amplification. Calreticulin and estrogen receptor-α were co-precipitated and analyzed by Western blotting to determine if the proteins associate in T cells.

Results: Calreticulin expression increased (p = 0.034) in activated control T cells, while estradiol decreased (p = 0.044) calreticulin in resting T cells. Calreticulin expression decreased in activated SLE T cell samples and increased in approximately 50% of resting T cell samples. Plasma estradiol was similar (p > 0.05) among SLE patients and control volunteers. Estrogen receptor-α and calreticulin co-precipitated from nuclear and cytoplasmic T cell compartments.

Conclusions: The results indicate that estradiol tightly regulates calreticulin expression in normal human T cells, and the dynamics are different between activated and resting T cells. The absence of this tight regulation in SLE T cells could contribute to abnormal T cell function.