title: B-cell hyperactivity in murine lupus I. Immunological abnormalities in lupus-prone strains and the activation of normal B cells.
abstract: B-cell hyperactivity is the general and cardinal feature of murine and human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the prototype organ-non-specific autoimmune disease. The defect(s) responsible could be intrinsic to B cells, secondary to T-cell or macrophage abnormalities resulting in excessive help or deficient suppression, or could stem f rom qualitative/quantitative abnormalities of autoantigens. Here Argyrios Theofilopoulos and his colleagues review the immunopathological and cellular abnormalities observed in murine lupus and the factors currently thought to play a role in normal B-cell proliferation, differentiation and Ig class switching. Next month, in a second article, they discuss abnormalities in B-cell response to and/or overproduction of T-cell-derived accessory signals which may explain the generalized B-cell hyperactivity associated with mouse and human lupus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Theofilopoulos
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Prud'homme
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fieser
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Dixon