Fig. 1

Evaluation of intracellular ER expression levels in T lymphocytes from SLE patients and healthy controls. a Intracellular ERα and b intracellular ERβ expression levels were evaluated by flow cytometry. Values of ER/isotype control mean fluorescence intensity ratio (rMFI) are reported, and data are represented as box plots displaying medians, 25th and 75th percentiles as boxes, and the lowest and highest values as whiskers. Statistical differences were calculated by the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations of intracellular ERα and ERβ expression levels with the SLEDAI-2K score are also shown. The Spearman’s rho (R) and p values were determined using the Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. Solid lines represent best fits as estimated by linear regression analysis. c Immunofluorescence analysis of intracellular ERα (left panels) and ERβ (right panels) expression (green). Representative images of T lymphocytes from the studied populations are shown. Cell nuclei were stained with Hoechst 33342 in blue. Magnification, ×2200. d ERα/ERβ ratio and its correlation with the SLEDAI-2K score are shown. Data are represented and analyzed as described above. ctrs healthy controls, iER intracellular ER, SLEDAI-2K Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000