Background
Programmed death (PD)-1 is a newly described member of the immunoglobulin super-family that is expressed on activated T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. Engagement of PD-1 with its specific ligands, PD-L1 (B7-H1) and PD-L2 (B7-DC), inhibits lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine expression, and may play a role in peripheral tolerance and negative regulation of T-cell and B-cell responses in vivo. We sought to investigate the expression profiles of PD-1 and PD-1 ligands in peripheral blood cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).