First Author | Peng SL | Year | 1997 |
Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 158 |
Issue | 5 | Pages | 2464-70 |
PubMed ID | 9036998 | Mgi Jnum | J:38492 |
Mgi Id | MGI:85875 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.158.5.2464 |
Citation | Peng SL, et al. (1997) alpha beta T cell regulation and CD40 ligand dependence in murine systemic autoimmunity. J Immunol 158(5):2464-70 |
abstractText | To explore the mechanisms by which alpha beta T cells and gamma delta T cells regulate systemic autoimmunity, lupus-prone mice were rendered deficient in CD40 ligand and/or alpha beta T cells by intercrossing CD40L -/- and TCR-alpha -/- knockouts, generating CD40L-intact or -deficient (CD40L+ or CD40L-), alpha beta T cell-intact or -deficient (alpha beta+ or alpha beta-) MRL-lpr/lpr animals. As expected, CD40L+ alpha beta+ mice developed high titer autoantibodies along with severe renal and cutaneous disease. CD40L+ alpha beta- animals developed lower levels of autoantibodies, accompanied by less severe or delayed renal and cutaneous disease. CD40L- alpha beta+ mice developed even lower titers of autoantibodies and less severe renal disease yet developed cutaneous lesions indistinguishable from those of CD40L+ alpha beta+ disease. Most surprisingly, CD40L- alpha beta- animals developed higher levels of some autoantibodies than did CD40L- alpha beta+ mice and developed renal disease similar in severity to CD40L+ alpha beta- counterparts; however, they failed to develop skin disease. Thus, disruption of CD40L and alpha beta T cells provides a novel dissection of the physiology and pathology of murine lupus; while these data confirm previous findings demonstrating a role for CD40L-dependent, alpha beta T cell-dependent mechanisms in autoantibody production and renal disease in murine lupus, they also: 1) establish that alpha beta T cells may drive autoimmune skin disease by a CD40L-independent mechanism; 2) identify a role for CD40L in non-alpha beta T cell-dependent autoantibody production and autoimmune skin disease; and 3) suggest a role for alpha beta T cells in the down-regulation of autoimmunity driven by other T cells. Thus, both alpha beta and non-alpha beta T cells, such as gamma delta T cells, regulate systemic autoimmunity by CD40L-dependent and -independent mechanisms. |