![Studying Lupus Cell by Cell]()
Systemic Lupus erythematosus (SLE) occurs when a hyperactive immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, resulting in chronic inflammation and organ damage. Inflammation of the kidneys, or lupus nephritis (LN), affects nearly half of SLE patients, leading to potentially fatal kidney failure. Medications now used to treat LN are not always effective. To gain better insight into disease pathways in LN and to develop novel treatment strategies, lead author Evan Der, a Ph.D. student in Einstein’s department of microbiology & immunology, together with senior author Chaim Putterman, M.D., and colleagues at Einstein, Montefiore, NYU, and Rockefeller University, have developed a novel approach to analyze the RNA sequences of individual cells from kidney and skin biopsies of patients by using single-cell RNA-sequencing. The study was published online on May 4 in JCI Insight. Dr. Putterman is professor of medicine and of microbiology & immunology at Einstein and chief of rheumatology at Einstein and Montefiore.
Posted on: Friday, May 12, 2017