title: A Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells-Type I Interferon Axis Is Critically Implicated in the Pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic autoimmune disease that is characterized by the generation of immune responses to various nuclear components. Impaired clearance of apoptotic cells and loss of tolerance to self-antigens are involved both in the initiation and in the propagation of the disease. Dendritic cells (DCs) are key factors in the balance between autoimmunity and tolerance and play a role linking innate and adaptive immunity. DCs, particularly plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), are the main source of type I interferon (IFN) cytokines, which contribute to the immunopathogenesis of SLE. There is accumulating evidence that pDCs and type I IFN cytokines take the leading part in the development of SLE. In this review, we discuss recent data regarding the role of pDCs and type I IFN cytokines in the pathogenesis of SLE and the potential for employing therapies targeting against aberrant regulation of the pDC-type I IFN axis for treating SLE.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu 700-712, Korea. okjimin@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Ji-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, Korea. rapark@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sung-Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul 143-729, Korea. ho0919@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ho-Youn
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, Korea. seungki73@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seung-Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kwok
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I
keywords: dendritic cells; systemic lupus erythematosus; type I interferon