In the present study, we found that CD3+/CD56+ cells are slightly deficient in SLE patients as a whole compared to controls (1.6±0.3% vs 2.4±0.5%, p = 0.086), and IL-15 increased the percentages of CD3+/CD56+ NKT-like cells from SLE patients to a lesser degree compared to healthy controls (10.1±1.1% vs 18.6±2.5%, p = 0.006). Here, IL15 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.