title: [Contribution of Th-1, Th-2, Th-17 or regulatory T cells to connective tissue diseases].
abstract: Connective tissue diseases (or systemic autoimmune diseases), such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus, are characterized by B cell hyperactivity and production of various autoantibodies. T cells help B cell activation in the germinal center by enhancing somatic hypermutation and generation of high affinity pathogenic autoantibodies. Previously helper T cells were divided into Th-1 and Th-2 cells. Recently, Th-17 cells and regulatory T cells have been identified as distinct T cell lineages and their roles in inflammation or immune regulation are under intensive investigation. In this review, we discuss the contribution of each T cell subset to autoantibody production and systemic autoimmune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, Institute for Frontier Medical Science, Kyoto University.
authors.forename: Motomu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Shimon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies