The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that increased GLK<sup>+</sup>IL-17A<sup>+</sup> T-cell population in peripheral blood reflected an active stage of SLE.
Moreover, GLK levels are increased in T cells from patients with SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, or adult-onset Still's disease; the percentages of GLK-overexpression T cells are correlated with the disease activity.
We investigated the role of GLK in the pathogenesis of adult-onset Still's disease, which shares some similar clinical characteristics with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Thus, GLK is a direct activator of PKC-θ, and activation of GLK-PKC-θ-IKK could be used as new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for systemic lupus erythematosus.