Patients with SLE may succumb to infections because of intrinsic immunologic deterioration

What is it about?

In this review, we discussed the pathophysiology of SLE in light of the genetic backgrounds that are common to primary immunodeficiency.

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Why is it important?

Patients with SLE become susceptible to infection via three pathways. First, some of the pathways that the SLE-susceptible genes are involved in are implicated in the pathogenesis of immunodeficiency, which could predispose patients with SLE to infection. Second, patients with SLE are considered to be inherently susceptible to infection because of immunological abnormalities, such as hypocomplementemia, lymphopenia and low production of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Third, immunosuppression by medication used in the treatment of SLE makes patients with SLE vulnerable to infection.