title: Contribution of dendritic cells to the autoimmune pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease in which excessive inflammation, autoantibodies and complement activation lead to multisystem tissue damage. The contribution of the individual genetic composition has been extensively studied, and several susceptibility genes related to immune pathways that participate in SLE pathogenesis have been identified. It has been proposed that SLE takes place when susceptibility factors interact with environmental stimuli leading to a deregulated immune response. Experimental evidence suggests that such events are related to the failure of T-cell and B-cell suppression mediated by defects in cell signalling, immune tolerance and apoptotic mechanism promoting autoimmunity. In addition, it has been reported that dendritic cells (DCs) from SLE patients, which are crucial in the modulation of peripheral tolerance to self-antigens, show an increased ratio of activating/inhibitory receptors on their surfaces. This phenotype and an augmented expression of co-stimulatory molecules is thought to be critical for disease pathogenesis. Accordingly, tolerogenic DCs can be a potential strategy for developing antigen-specific therapies to reduce detrimental inflammation without causing systemic immunosuppression. In this review article we discuss the most relevant data relative to the contribution of DCs to the triggering of SLE.
authors.affiliation: Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.|Institute of Medicine and Experimental Biology of Cuyo (IMBECU), Science and Technology Center (CCT) of Mendoza, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina.|Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mackern-Oberti
authors.affiliation: Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Inmunología Clínica y Reumatología, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Llanos
authors.affiliation: Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile.|INSERM U1064, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Claudia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.affiliation: Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.|INSERM U1064, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.affiliation: Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.|Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Inmunología Clínica y Reumatología, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.|INSERM U1064, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Alexis M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kalergis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000276:immunology; D015551:Autoimmunity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D056747:Immunomodulation; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D010641:Phenotype; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition
keywords: dendritic cells; immune tolerance; immunotherapy; lupus; systemic autoimmunity