In vitro lymph node and peripheral blood lymphocyte responses to influenza immunization in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Following influenza immunization, in vitro anti-influenza antibody production by peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBM) taken from some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus is shown to be impaired despite apparently normal serum antibody responses. One explanation for this finding could be the sequestration of antibody-producing cells in the lymphoid tissue. In this study, antibody production in vitro by lymphocytes from peripheral blood and lymph nodes was measured in parallel following influenza immunization of SLE patients and normal controls. Antibody production by lymph node cells was confirmed in the presence of an impaired PBM antibody response, suggesting redistribution of antibody-producing cells to the lymphoid tissue. This finding was not however, confined to SLE patients, and the relatively low serum antibody response in these individuals suggests a more generalised impairment of the immune response.