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Query: UMLS:C0409974 (lupus)
 22,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have studied the ability of isolated T cell subpopulations from the autoimmune mouse MRL/MPJ/lpr/lpr (lpr) to proliferate and to undergo changes in cytokine gene transcription in vitro, in the presence or absence of cytokines. The lpr mouse develops lupus-like symptoms and massive lymphadenopathy due to accumulation of abnormal CD4-/CD8- T lymphocytes, which are unusual in coexpressing Thy1 and B220. FACS-purified B220+/Thy1+ lpr lymph node cells showed little proliferative response to cytokines, even in the presence of PMA, and failed to proliferate in response to stimulation through the CD3/TcR complex. Polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the presence of cytokine gene transcripts in B220-/Thy1+ and B220+/Thy1+ ("abnormal") T cells, before and after in vitro culture. The high level of transcripts of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha genes observed in freshly isolated B220+/Thy1+ cells decreased after 10 hr of in vitro culture, while levels of TNF-beta, IL-6 and TGF-beta transcripts were maintained. These results suggest that a positive stimulus for IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha gene transcription by lpr B220+/Thy1+ cells may exist in vivo but is removed upon purification of this abnormal T cell subset.
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PMID:Abnormal T cells from lpr mice down-regulate transcription of interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in vitro. 213 61

B lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were studied to determine if they were intrinsically hyperresponsive to lymphokine mediators. Peripheral blood B cells from 25 lupus patients and 16 normal individuals matched for age and sex were cultured with recombinant lymphokines. B cells both from patients and normal subjects did not show increased [3H]thymidine uptake when cultured with interleukins 1, 2, and 4. The addition of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I as costimulant increased [3H]thymidine uptake by B cells of patients and normal subjects. In the absence of T cells these recombinant lymphokines did not increase in vitro IgG or IgM production by lupus or normal B cells. Other recombinant lymphokines, interleukin 3, interferon gamma, lymphotoxin, tumour necrosis factor, and colony stimulating factors for granulocytes and macrophages were tested on lymphocytes from smaller numbers of patients and controls. Most patients in this study had inactive disease and all data suggested that B cells from patients with inactive lupus were not hyperresponsive to the lymphokines tested. In addition, the use of lymphokine gene probes for interleukins 2, 3, and 4 did not show spontaneous expression of these genes in circulating lymphocytes.
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PMID:B cell lymphokines in human systemic lupus erythematosus. 259 84

Male BXSB mice develop lupus-like disease and die early in life (4 to 5 mo) whereas female mice do not. Others have demonstrated that CD4+ cells from male mice support B cell resistance to tolerance induction to human gamma-globulin (HGG). In this study, male and female mice tolerized at 2 mo of age with deaggregated HGG and subsequently immunized with HGG in comparison with mice immunized only were tested for anti-HGG Ab responses. CD4+ cells from draining lymph nodes of these mice were tested in culture for proliferation and production of cytokine mRNA and protein in response to HGG plus APC. Tolerized male but not female mice produced anti-HGG Abs of both the IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes. HGG-stimulated CD4+ cells from immunized male and female mice that were not tolerized produced IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IFN-gamma, and TNF-beta mRNA as well as IL-2 and IL-4 protein, whereas tolerized, immunized mice of both sexes failed to proliferate or produce either IL-2 or IL-4 or express any cytokine mRNA in response to HGG in vitro. A resistance in tolerance induction in male mice, as determined by anti-HGG Abs, was also observed at 3 mo of age. Although a resistance to tolerance was also seen in terms of proliferation in the 3-mo-old males, production of IL-2 or IL-4 protein was still not observed. Thus, all T cell subsets identified by cytokine expression profiles were tolerized not only from females but also from males, of which the latter appeared to show some resistance to tolerance induction.
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PMID:In vivo tolerance induction and associated cytokine production by subsets of murine CD4+ T cells. 753 93

The nature of the stimuli driving autoantibody production in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is unclear, but cytokines are believed to play an important role. Since cytokines primarily appear to act locally at the tissue level, we analysed mRNA expression of several cytokines (IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IFN gamma, TNF alpha, TNF beta and TGF beta 1) in the lymph nodes of lupus-prone mice, in models of early onset disease. We constructed a multispecific competitor fragment that allowed quantification of these cytokine transcripts by competitive PCR assay. The results reveal considerable overexpression of IL-1 beta, IL-10 and IFN gamma transcripts in SLE-prone MRL-lpr/lpr (MRL/l) and BXSB male (BXSBm) mice, but with some strain differences. IFN gamma was most markedly augmented in MRL/l mice (in some cases over 100-fold greater than control mice), IL-1 beta was most severely overexpressed in BXSBm mice while IL-10 was equally increased in both strains. In addition, TGF beta 1 expression was moderately elevated in the lymph nodes of BXSBm (but not MRL/l) mice. We found no abnormality in the expression of the other cytokines. Cytokine transcript levels were only slightly altered at 4 weeks of age, but were elevated from 10 to 22 weeks of age. The latter phase corresponds to a period where lupus-like disease escalates, resulting in frequent mortality. Interestingly, our results do not reveal a clear Th1 or Th2 cytokine expression pattern in these lupus-prone mice. IL-1 beta, IFN gamma and IL-10 are pleiotropic cytokines with pro-inflammatory and B-cell stimulatory effects. These results point to certain cytokines as potential targets for immunotherapy in lupus.
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PMID:Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis reveals marked overexpression of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-1 and interferon-gamma mRNA in the lymph nodes of lupus-prone mice. 778 52

Cytokines are important in developmental and effector pathways of lymphocyte function. Our objective was to elucidate the profile of cytokines produced by circulating mononuclear cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus as estimated from studies of cytokine-gene activation. cDNA prepared by reverse transcription of lymphocyte mRNA was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction and normalized on the basis of beta-actin gene expression. Of 10 cytokines investigated in 16 individuals, differences between SLE and controls were found in only three. IL-2 transcripts were detected in four of six cases of subjects hospitalized for active SLE, but in only one of seven healthy controls, and none of three cases with pulmonary tuberculosis. By contrast, IL-4 transcripts were decreased compared with healthy controls and patients with tuberculosis. Also, TGF beta transcripts appeared to be decreased in SLE. All individuals studied regularly demonstrated high levels of transcripts for IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF alpha and transcripts for IFN gamma, TNF beta, IL-5 and IL-10 were variably expressed. In a second group of six SLE patients with less active disease, there was also a decrease in IL-4 expression compared with six healthy controls. Moreover, assays performed on sera from patients with active SLE revealed that IL-4 levels were not increased. Although in mice this cytokine has a well documented role in supporting antibody production, this study provides no evidence that IL-4 is involved in the B cell hyperactivity characteristic of human SLE.
Lupus 1994 Oct
PMID:Cytokine gene profile in circulating blood mononuclear cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: increased interleukin-2 but not interleukin-4 mRNA. 784 98

Two TNF binding proteins have been characterized as soluble fragments of TNF receptors. We measured the plasma concentrations of soluble type A (p75) and type B (p55) TNF receptors in patients with systemic lupus erythematodes (SLE), progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). In SLE and PSS patients plasma concentrations of both types of TNF receptors and in MCTD patients type A TNF receptors were significantly elevated compared to controls. Plasma concentrations of both soluble TNF receptors were highly correlated in SLE, PSS, and MCTD patients, indicating a possible coregulation of both TNF receptors. In contrast, soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sCD 25) plasma concentrations were not correlated and seem to be an independent parameter. The soluble forms of the TNF receptors neutralize TNF in cytotoxicity assays and are functionally active as TNF antagonists. In one patient with SLE, autoantibodies against type A TNF receptors were detected, TNF alpha, and TNF beta did not interfere with the autoantibody binding to the receptor.
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PMID:Evaluation of soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors and TNF receptor antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematodes, progressive systemic sclerosis, and mixed connective tissue disease. 824 78

Impaired clearance of circulating and/or deposited immune complexes (IC) by the mononuclear phagocytic system is one of the major factors in the pathogenesis of IC diseases. MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) lupus mice spontaneously develop a lethal glomerulonephritis associated with IC deposition. The ability of macrophages to degrade phagocytozed IC and regulation of this degradation in MRL/lpr mice were examined. In 4-month-old MRL/lpr mice, macrophages accumulated in the affected glomeruli and these macrophages contained many phagosomes containing electron-dense bodies. When culture supernatant of human T cell line HUT102 was administered intraperitoneally into disease-bearing MRL/lpr mice, degradation of these electron-dense bodies in the macrophages in glomeruli was noted. We developed a quantitative in vitro assay for IC degradation activity of MRL/lpr resident peritoneal macrophages (RPM) using peroxidase-labelled IC derived from MRL/lpr mouse sera. The ability of the RPM to degrade IC was remarkably enhanced by the pretreatment with HUT102 cell products and the related human recombinant cytokines, lymphotoxin and IL-1 alpha. Moreover, pretreatment of RPM from non-diseased MRL/Mp-+/+ mice with the culture supernatant of spleen cells from diseased MRL/lpr mice reduced their IC degradation activity. These results suggested that the ability of macrophages to degrade IC in MRL/Mp strains of mice is under the regulation of cytokines, and the impaired ability in the disease-bearing mice may be the result of abnormalities in the cytokine system in these mice.
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PMID:Immune complex-degradation ability of macrophages in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr lupus mice and its regulation by cytokines. 828 94

The murine MRL/lpr model of lupus nephritis is characterized by a systemic autoimmune syndrome closely resembling the human disease. The lpr mutation represents a defect in the expression of the apoptosis-signaling Fas antigen gene which causes accelerated autoimmune disease in MRL/ lpr mice and a milder, non-lethal autoimmune syndrome in C57BL6-lpr/lpr mice. The role of cytokines in autoimmune pathogenesis and its relationship with the lpr mutation remains poorly understood. In this study we utilized a RNase protection assay to quantitatively and simultaneously examine the expression of 10 different cytokine genes, namely IL-1 alpha, II-1 beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and TNF-beta in kidney, spleen, liver, and lymph nodes obtained from pre-diseased and diseased lupus-prone MRL/lpr, pre-diseased MRL/+2 and C57BL/6-lpr mice, as well as healthy non-autoimmune C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice. Diseased MRL/lpr mice demonstrated marked and predominant IL-1 beta gene upregulation in kidneys, liver, lymph nodes and spleen. Increased message for both TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma genes was also observed in lymph nodes, and less consistently, in the spleen, and kidneys derived from diseased MRL/lpr mice as compared to pre-diseased MRL/+2 or normal nonautoimmune control mice. Furthermore, a modest increase in the expression of both IL-1 beta and IFN-gamma message was observed in lymphoid organs of pre-diseased MRL/lpr and C57BL/6-lpr mice compared with MRL/+2 and C57BL/6 controls, respectively. Increased IL-1 beta gene expression was associated with the presence of the lpr mutation, was observed during the prediseased stage, and increased during active disease in both male and female mice. In summary, these results demonstrate that generalized up-regulation of IL-1 beta gene expression, in concert with a more limited up-regulation of both TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma expression, are prominent features of the autoimmune syndrome in the MRL/lpr model of SLE and may contribute to the disease-accelerating effect of the lpr mutation.
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PMID:Cytokine gene expression in the MRL/lpr model of lupus nephritis. 880 76

The human TNF genes are located within the MHC class-III region on chromosome 6. The presence or absence of an Nco-I restriction site in the 5' non-coding sequence of the TNF beta gene defines two alleles (TNFB*1 and TNFB*2). The segregation of these alleles has been associated with levels of TNF alpha or TNF beta production in systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and in healthy control individuals. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by high levels of TNF alpha within the synovial fluid and to address the question of whether this could be brought about by a genetic predisposition to high TNF production by RA individuals, we examined the distribution of this Nco-I polymorphism in 98 healthy volunteers and 123 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. No difference was observed between the normal and RA groups with respect to haplotype segregation or allelic frequency. Furthermore, no difference was observed between DR4+ or DR4- individuals in the control or RA groups. These data demonstrate that the high level of TNF alpha seen in the joints of RA patients is unlikely to be due to a genetic predisposition of these patients to high TNF alpha production, as defined by the TNF Nco-I restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).
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PMID:TNF Nco-I RFLP is not an independent risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis. 909 56

TNFa, TNFb and TNFc microsatellites were analyzed in 102 SLE patients recruited from a defined area in Southern Sweden. Furthermore we studied 27 SLE patients belonging to 10 multiplex families in which a majority of the members were living within the same area in Southern Sweden. As a control population 98 healthy blood donors from the same region was used. The TNFa2 allele was found more often in the SLE patients (48%) than in the normal controls (33%) (P < 0.01). A low frequency of the TNFa4 allele (10%) vs 16% in controls was observed. The family study showed that the TNFabc haplotype 2-3-1 was more common in SLE associated haplotypes than in non-SLE haplotypes (P < 0.001). The 2-3-1 haplotype was associated with the extended haplotype MHC haplotype [HLA-B8,SC01,DR17]. The results suggest that TNF haplotypes do not constitute special markers of susceptibility to SLE but reflect the increased frequencies of specific intact haplotypes already known to be associated with the disease.
Lupus 1996 Dec
PMID:TNF microsatellites in systemic lupus erythematosus-a high frequency of the TNFabc 2-3-1 haplotype in multicase SLE families. 911 7


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