title: The in vitro production of anti-nuclear antibodies by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Demonstration of T cell requirement and soluble inducing factor(s) for anti-nuclear antibodies triggering in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 29 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 14 normal individuals were investigated for the in vitro production of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA). Twenty-eight of 29 SLE patients but only one control spontaneously produced ANA in unstimulated PBMC. Pokeweed mitogen induced ANA synthesis in six controls. No detectable ANA was observed in B cell enriched fraction except in two cases of SLE. Recombination of B + T cell enriched fractions and PBMC supernatants from SLE patients could induce B cells to synthesize ANA. These results indicate that: (1) SLE patients spontaneously produced ANA in vitro whereas controls rarely did; (2) autoreactive clones exist in normal individuals but are kept under control and (3) T cell help is required for ANA triggering.
mesh_terms: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear