title: Spontaneous formation of germinal centers in autoimmune mice.
abstract: The mechanisms of autoantibody production are not well understood. Germinal centers (GC) may be important sites of immune disregulation in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we document the presence of spontaneous GC formation in the spleens of several autoimmune mouse strains that spontaneously develop autoimmune Type I diabetes and a lupus-like disease. In contrast, mouse strains that do not develop lupus did not exhibit spontaneous formation of GC. In all of the autoimmune strains studied, GC were present at 1-2 months of age, a time that closely parallels the appearance of autoantibodies. Like the GC that develop after purposeful immunization, GC in autoimmune mice contained B220(+), PNA(+), and GL-7(+) B cells, and FDC-M1(+) follicular dendritic cells. In addition, spontaneously formed GC in autoimmunity and those caused by immunization were abrogated in a similar way by a short-term treatment with anti-CD40 ligand antibody. These data indicate that spontaneously forming GC in autoimmunity are similar to those appearing after purposeful immunization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1192, USA. iluzina@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: I G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Luzina
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Atamas
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Storrer
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: daSilva
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kelsoe
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Handwerger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification; D023201:CD40 Ligand / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000145:classification; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007700:Kinetics; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D023201:CD40 Ligand