Neutrophils in SLE exhibit intrinsic, disease-specific transcriptomic alterations while sharing ex vivo adaptation dynamics with healthy individuals. The disease-specific alterations appear to be modifiable through targeted therapeutic intervention, as anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy resets neutrophil gene expression towards healthy patterns despite targeting B cells rather than neutrophils directly. These findings provide insights into SLE pathogenesis and highlight potential therapeutic strategies targeting both adaptive and innate immunity.
Dehdashtian et al. (2026) studied this question.