title: T cells in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: The role of T cells in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is reviewed with a focus on autoantigen-specific T cells in SLE. The initial clue to a role for T cells in SLE was histopathologic studies demonstrating extensive infiltration of T cells at the sites of inflammation. Later studies, showing association between HLA polymorphisms and specific autoantibodies, directly implicated a role for T cells in autoantibody production. More recently, we and others have identified and characterized autoantigen-specific T cells in SLE. We review these studies on the role of autoantigen-specific T cells in SLE and present new findings on the molecular characterization of T cell immunity to Sm-B, Sm-D and U1-70kD small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) autoantigens.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, University of Missouri, One Hospital Drive, Columbia, Missouri, USA. majello@dgbm.unina.it
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Hoffman
mesh_terms: D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D055517:snRNP Core Proteins
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear; D055517:snRNP Core Proteins