title: Contribution of the innate immune system to autoimmune myocarditis: a role for complement.
abstract: Myocarditis is a principal cause of heart disease among young adults and is often a precursor of heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy. We show here that complement is critical for the induction of experimental autoimmune myocarditis and that it acts through complement receptor type 1 (CR1) and type 2 (CR2). We also found a subset of CD44(hi)CD62L(lo) T cells that expresses CR1 and CR2 and propose that both receptors are involved in the expression of B and T cell activation markers, T cell proliferation and cytokine production. These findings provide a mechanism by which activated complement, a key product of the innate immune response, modulates the induction of an autoimmune disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afanasyeva
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Dohmen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlichting
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tretter
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fairweather
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Holers
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D003167:Complement Activation; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000276:immunology*; D011951:Receptors, Complement / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D011951:Receptors, Complement; D003165:Complement System Proteins