Predominant Role of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Stimulating Systemic Autoimmunity

Xinfang Huang; Stephanie Dorta-Estremera; Yihong Yao; Nan Shen; Wei Cao

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2015.00526

Predominant Role of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Stimulating Systemic Autoimmunity

Front Immunol. 2015 Oct 12:6:526. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00526. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Xinfang Huang¹, Stephanie Dorta-Estremera², Yihong Yao³, Nan Shen⁴, Wei Cao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, Shanghai Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine , Shanghai , China ; Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston, TX , USA.
² Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston, TX , USA ; The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences , Houston, TX , USA.
³ Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. , Palo Alto, CA , USA.
⁴ Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, Shanghai Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine , Shanghai , China.
⁵ Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, Shanghai Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine , Shanghai , China ; Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston, TX , USA ; The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences , Houston, TX , USA.

Abstract

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which are prominent type I interferon (IFN-I)-producing immune cells, have been extensively implicated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, whether they participate critically in lupus pathogenesis remains unknown. Recent studies using various genetic and cell type-specific ablation strategies have demonstrated that pDCs play a pivotal role in the development of autoantibodies and the progression of lupus under diverse experimental conditions. The findings of several investigations highlight a notion that pDCs operate critically at the early stage of lupus development. In particular, pDCs have a profound effect on B-cell activation and humoral autoimmunity in vivo. This deeper understanding of the vital role of pDCs in lupus pathogenesis supports the therapeutic targeting of the pDC-IFN-I pathway in SLE.

Keywords: B cells; amyloid; animal models; autoantibody; autoimmunity; plasmacytoid dendritic cells; systemic lupus erythematosus; type I interferon.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

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