Supplementary_data.doc

<b>Supplementary Material</b>. Basophils as a potential marker of lupus
nephritis by flow cytometry

<b>Objective:</b> To establish a convenient and simple flow cytometry
immunophenotyping panel to explore immune cellular alterations and potential
cellular biomarkers in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
<b>Materials
and Methods:</b> This is a cross-sectional,
case-control study include 60 patients with SLE and 20 sex- and age-matched
healthy controls. 14-color imunophenotyping panel is applied to detect
proportions of circulating immune mononuclear cell. Comparison between
patients and healthy controls, subgroup patients were performed. Besides,
correlations between cellular proportions and other parameters were
investigated.
<b>Results:</b> We revealed that after multivariate analysis, decreased
proportions of CD4-CD8- T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and innate
lymphoid cells (ILCs) were observed significantly in patients compared to
healthy controls. The proportions of basophils were decreased significantly
in patients with LN compared to in patients without LN.

<b>Conclusions:</b> In the present study, we found that basophil
proportions may be a biomarker of LN.