Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024141 (systemic lupus erythematosus)
44,322 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In this study, we further characterize the humoral autoimmune response in the recently described anti-CD1 autoreactive T cell receptor-transgenic mouse lupus model (CD1 lupus model). We discovered and characterized novel autoantigens, comprising a protein of 105 kDa (p105) and a novel RNA molecule of 140 base pairs (bp) that is likely associated with p105, and several additional factors with distinct biochemical properties. In the CD1 lupus model, lethally irradiated BALB/c/nu/nu mice were injected intravenously with sorted bone marrow cells and sorted splenic T cells from donor BALB/c mice expressing TCR alpha and beta transgenes that encode autoreactivity for CD1d. Adoptive hosts injected with the single-positive (CD4(+) and CD8(+)) subset of transgenic cells developed anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies and a lupus-like illness. Sera were analyzed by Western blotting and immunoprecipitation. Antigens were characterized by biochemical and serological methods. Serum autoantibodies from 5 of 12 (42%) CD1 lupus mice immunoprecipitated a 105-kDa protein, termed p105. p105 was associated with a small RNA of approximately 140 bp. Anti-p105 autoantibodies appeared early in the course of disease. Serological and biochemical characterization suggested that p105 was distinct from known lupus autoantigens of similar molecular masses, indicating that p105 represents a novel autoantigen in lupus.
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PMID:Characterization of novel antigens recognized by serum autoantibodies from anti-CD1 TCR-transgenic lupus mice. 1516 35

Mechanisms responsible for the development of autoimmune skin disease in humans and animal models with lupus remain poorly understood. In this study, we have investigated the role of CD1d, an antigen-presenting molecule known to activate natural killer T cells, in the development of inflammatory dermatitis in lupus-susceptible MRL-lpr/lpr mice. In particular, we have established MRL-lpr/lpr mice carrying a germ-line deletion of the CD1d genes. We demonstrate that CD1d-deficient MRL-lpr/lpr mice, as compared with wild-type littermates, have more frequent and more severe skin disease, with increased local infiltration with mast cells, lymphocytes and dendritic cells, including Langerhans cells. CD1d-deficient MRL-lpr/lpr mice had increased prevalence of CD4(+) T cells in the spleen and liver and of TCR alpha beta (+)B220(+) cells in lymph nodes. Furthermore, CD1d deficiency was associated with decreased T cell production of type 2 cytokines and increased or unchanged type 1 cytokines. These findings indicate a regulatory role of CD1d in inflammatory dermatitis. Understanding the mechanisms by which CD1d deficiency results in splenic T cell expansion and cytokine alterations, with increased dermal infiltration of dendritic cells and lymphocytes in MRL-lpr/lpr mice, will have implications for the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases.
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PMID:CD1d deficiency exacerbates inflammatory dermatitis in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. 1516 43

In response to appropriate stimulation, T lymphocytes from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients exhibit increased and faster intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation and free calcium responses. We have explored whether the composition and dynamics of lipid rafts are responsible for the abnormal T cell responses in SLE. SLE T cells generate and possess higher amounts of ganglioside-containing lipid rafts and, unlike normal T cells, SLE T cell lipid rafts include FcRgamma and activated Syk kinase. IgM anti-CD3 Ab-mediated capping of TCR complexes occurs more rapidly in SLE T cells and concomitant with dramatic acceleration of actin polymerization kinetics. The significance of these findings is evident from the observation that cross-linking of lipid rafts evokes earlier and higher calcium responses in SLE T cells. Thus, we propose that alterations in the lipid raft signaling machinery represent an important mechanism that is responsible for the heightened and accelerated T cell responses in SLE.
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PMID:Alterations in lipid raft composition and dynamics contribute to abnormal T cell responses in systemic lupus erythematosus. 1518 66

Abnormal expression of key signaling molecules and defective function of T lymphocytes play a significant role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Probing on altered expression of genes that may predispose to SLE revealed that the expression of TCR zeta chain is defective in the majority of SLE patients. Current research has been directed towards understanding the molecular basis of TCR zeta chain deficiency and dissecting the T cell signalling abnormalities in SLE T cells. Latest developments suggest that interplay of abnormal transcriptional factor expression, aberrant mRNA processing/editing, unbiquitination, proteolysis, and the effects of oxidative stress as well as changes in chromatin structure invariably contribute to TCR zeta chain deficiency in SLE T cells. On the other hand, multiple factors, including altered receptor structure, modulation of membrane clustering, lipid-raft distribution of signaling molecules, and defective signal silencing mechanisms, play a key role in delivering the increased TCR/CD3-mediated intracellular calcium response in SLE T cells.
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PMID:Dissecting the molecular mechanisms of TCR zeta chain downregulation and T cell signaling abnormalities in human systemic lupus erythematosus. 1520 87

Some of the signaling phenotypic abnormalities observed in peripheral blood T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus resemble those seen in cells anergized by stimulation through the TCR/CD3 complex, in the absence of costimulatory signals, or by stimulation with altered ligands. The potential association of this "anergic" phenotype and the triggering of autoimmune responses in human lupus is discussed.
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PMID:Altered signaling triggered by ligation of the TCR/CD3 receptor in T lymphocytes from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the road from anergy to autoimmunity. 1520 88

SLE T cells may play a key role in autoantibody production in SLE B cells. In addition, accumulating evidence has shown that SLE T cells participate in the attack on target cells or tissues through the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines or an increase in cell-to-cell adhesion. Thus, the functional abnormality of SLE T cells appears to be pivotal to an understanding of SLE pathogenesis. Accumulating evidence suggests that potential defects may reside in the proximal signal transduction around the TCR-CD3 complex. We have demonstrated that the expression of TCR zeta chain is significantly decreased in peripheral blood T cells from SLE patients. To explore the mechanism of defective expression of TCR zeta chain, we examined mRNA of TCR zeta, and found that two alternatively spliced variants such as exon 7 (-) and short 3'-UTR are detected in SLE. We review the possible role of the TCR zeta defects in autoimmunity and discuss how the splicing variants lead to downregulated protein expression of TCR zeta chain.
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PMID:Altered expression of the T cell receptor-CD3 complex in systemic lupus erythematosus. 1520 89

The mechanisms of systemic autoimmune disease are poorly understood and available therapies often lead to immunosuppressive conditions. We describe here a new model of autoantigen-specific immunotherapy based on the sites of autoantigen presentation in systemic autoimmune disease. Nucleosomes are one of the well-characterized autoantigens. We found relative splenic localization of the stimulative capacity for nucleosome-specific T cells in (NZB x NZW)F(1) (NZB/W F(1)) lupus-prone mice. Splenic dendritic cells (DCs) from NZB/W F(1) mice spontaneously stimulate nucleosome-specific T cells to a much greater degree than both DCs from normal mice and DCs from the lymph nodes of NZB/W F(1) mice. This leads to a strategy for the local delivery of therapeutic molecules using autoantigen-specific T cells. Nucleosome-specific regulatory T cells engineered by triple gene transfer (TCR-alpha, TCR-beta, and CTLA4Ig) accumulated in the spleen and suppressed the related pathogenic autoantibody production. Nephritis was drastically suppressed without impairing the T cell-dependent humoral immune responses. Thus, autoantigen-specific regulatory T cells engineered by multiple gene transfer is a promising strategy for treating autoimmune diseases.
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PMID:Nucleosome-specific regulatory T cells engineered by triple gene transfer suppress a systemic autoimmune disease. 1526 48

A growing number of studies have revealed that the expression of many genes is abnormal in T lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although aberrant expression of signaling molecules may arise intrinsically or in response to the environment, these abnormalities play a significant role in the pathogenesis of this autoimmune disease. Modern research on lymphocyte signaling abnormalities in SLE has been directed toward identifying defective expression of various signaling molecules, understanding the molecular basis of the deficiency, and dissecting the T-cell signaling abnormalities that result from abnormal gene expression. The developments suggest that interplay of abnormal transcriptional factor, aberrant messenger RNA processing/editing, ubiquitination, proteolysis, oxidative stress, and changes in chromatin structure invariably contribute to the abnormal expression of numerous signaling molecules in SLE T cells. The contribution of each of these mechanisms in the abnormal expression of signaling molecules in SLE T cells is not known. In addition to abnormalities in gene expression, multiple factors, including altered cellular distribution of the protein, rewiring of the receptor, modulation of membrane clustering, and lipid raft distribution of signaling molecules and defective signal-silencing mechanisms play a key role in delivering the anomalous T-cell receptor/CD3-mediated intracellular calcium response in SLE T cells. The optimized methods and protocols described here pertaining to TCR zeta-chain expression and related T-cell signaling abnormalities can be very well applied to other molecules aberrantly expressed in SLE T cells.
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PMID:TCR zeta-chain abnormalities in human systemic lupus erythematosus. 1528 80

Abnormal T cell activation and cell death underlie the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus. Although mitochondrial hyperpolarization (MHP) represents an early and reversible checkpoint of T cell activation and apoptosis, lupus T cells exhibit persistent MHP. NO has recently been recognized as a key signal of mitochondrial biogenesis and mediator of MHP in human T lymphocytes. In this study, we show that persistent MHP was associated with increased mitochondrial mass (+47.7 +/- 2.8%; p = 0.00017) and increased mitochondrial (+21.8 +/- 4.1%; p = 0.016) and cytoplasmic Ca2+ content in T cells from 19 systemic lupus erythematosus patients with respect to 11 control donors (+38.0 +/- 6.4%; p = 0.0023). Electron microscopy revealed that lupus lymphocytes contained 8.76 +/- 1.0 mitochondria, while control donors contained 3.18 +/- 0.28 mitochondria per cell (p = 0.0009). Increased mitochondrial mass in T cells was associated with 2.08 +/- 0.09-fold enhanced NO production by lupus monocytes (p = 0.0023). Activation of T cells through the TCR initiates a biphasic elevation in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration, a rapid initial peak observed within minutes, and a plateau phase lasting up to 48 h. In response to CD3/CD28 costimulation, rapid Ca2+ fluxing was enhanced while the plateau phase was diminished in lupus T cells. NO-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in normal T cells enhanced the rapid phase and reduced the plateau of Ca2+ influx upon CD3/CD28 costimulation, thus mimicking the Ca2+ signaling profile of lupus T cells. Mitochondria constitute major Ca2+ stores and NO-dependent mitochondrial biogenesis may account for altered Ca2+ handling by lupus T cells.
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PMID:Nitric oxide-dependent mitochondrial biogenesis generates Ca2+ signaling profile of lupus T cells. 1535 13

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by several T lymphocyte abnormalities. An indirect assessment of recent thymus emigrants (RTE) has been recently been made available by measuring the number of TCR recombination excision circles (TREC) in peripheral T cells. We studied TREC levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 32 SLE patients with active disease and 32 normal age- and sex-matched controls. Signal-joint TREC concentration was determined by real-time quantitative-PCR as the number of TREC copies/microg PBMC DNA. SLE patients had lower TREC levels (4.1+/-3.9 x 10(4) TREC/microg DNA) than controls (8.9+/-7.9 x 10(4)/microg DNA) (P = 0.004). There was an inverse correlation between age and TREC levels in controls (r = -0.41, P = 0.02) but not in SLE patients. No clinical association was observed between TREC levels and clinical and laboratory SLE manifestations. TREC levels tended to be lower in patients with SLEDAI above 20 than in the rest of the patients (P = 0.08). The decreased PBMC TREC levels is indicative of a low proportion of RTE in SLE and could be caused by decreased RTE output and/or by increased peripheral T cell proliferation in this disease. The under-representation of RTE in the peripheral T cell pool may play a role in the immune tolerance abnormalities observed in SLE.
Lupus 2004
PMID:Decreased number of T cells bearing TCR rearrangement excision circles (TREC) in active recent onset systemic lupus erythematosus. 1564 44


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