Origin of late-onset autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune disease in the elderly is hypothesized to be caused by an imbalance in T-cell expansion and deletion after an encounter with self-antigens. A decrease in thymic output leads to a decreased pool of naive T cells in the periphery and to increased oligoclonal expansion of T cells. This expansion may be caused by stimulation with autoantigens that drive high-affinity interactions with self-antigens. Accumulation of presenescent, apoptosis-resistant, and proinflammatory T cells results in the growth of these autoreactive T cells. A decreased T-cell activation response that occurs with age leads to several defects that diminish the immune response.
Hsu
Hui-Chen
HC
Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 701 South 19th Street, Lyons Harrison Research Building 473, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Mountz
John D
JD
D017668:Age of Onset; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology