Publication Date:
2001-11-17
Description:
Dendritic cells (DCs) are important in regulating both immunity and tolerance. Hence, we hypothesized that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease characterized by autoreactive B and T cells, may be caused by alterations in the functions of DCs. Consistent with this, monocytes from SLE patients' blood were found to function as antigen-presenting cells, in vitro. Furthermore, serum from SLE patients induced normal monocytes to differentiate into DCs. These DCs could capture antigens from dying cells and present them to CD4-positive T cells. The capacity of SLE patients' serum to induce DC differentiation correlated with disease activity and depended on the actions of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). Thus, unabated induction of DCs by IFN-alpha may drive the autoimmune response in SLE.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Blanco, P -- Palucka, A K -- Gill, M -- Pascual, V -- Banchereau, J -- R01 AR46589/AR/NIAMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2001 Nov 16;294(5546):1540-3.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, TX 75204, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11711679" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Adolescent
;
Antigen Presentation
;
Antigens, CD/analysis
;
Blood Cell Count
;
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
;
Cell Differentiation
;
Cells, Cultured
;
Child
;
Dendritic Cells/*cytology/*immunology
;
Homeostasis
;
Humans
;
Interferon-alpha/blood/pharmacology/*physiology
;
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/blood/*immunology
;
Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed
;
Monocytes/cytology/*immunology
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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