Altered metabolism of poly(adp‐ribose) in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract
A method was developed to measure poly(ADP‐ribose) metabolism in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The technique involved the isolation of lymphocytes on Ficoll gradients, followed by lysis with 5M NaCl. The synthesis and degradation of poly(ADP‐ribose) in this crude lysate, measured by the incorporation of 3H‐labeled NAD into acid‐precipitable counts, was compared in 18 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and in 10 control patients without rheumatoid arthritis. Patients with SLE showed a 70% decrease in poly(ADP‐ribose) synthesis (P < 0.001); this decreased synthesis persisted even with the addition of histones or DNase. We present possible explanations of the role of poly(ADP‐ribose) in SLE.