title: Phenotypic and functional deficiencies of monocyte-derived dendritic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represents an autoimmune disease for which alterations of T cells, B cells as well as various antigen-presenting cell (APC) populations have been described. In order to better define APC-associated deficiencies, we analyzed morphologic, phenotypic and functional characteristics of in vitro-generated monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC) from SLE patients as compared with healthy controls. Analysis of MoDC at different stages of maturation revealed substantial phenotypic and functional defects of MoDC from SLE patients as compared with healthy controls. In particular, we observed a significantly reduced up-regulation of MHC class II molecules on MoDC upon activation which correlated with disease activity scores and functional deficiencies in mixed lymphocyte reaction experiments. Our data imply a crucial role of APC in the immunological imbalance in SLE for foreign and self-antigen reactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, General Hospital of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köller
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zwölfer
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Josef S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Smolen
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scheinecker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II