These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Evidence for polyclonal T cell activation in murine models of systemic lupus erythematosus.
    Author: Rozzo SJ, Drake CG, Chiang BL, Gershwin ME, Kotzin BL.
    Journal: J Immunol; 1994 Aug 01; 153(3):1340-51. PubMed ID: 7913114.
    Abstract:
    CD4+ T cells have been shown to be important in the development of disease in murine models of SLE. We compared the TCR V beta repertoires of young (healthy) and older (diseased) New Zealand hybrid mice as well as non-autoimmune strains to characterize changes in TCR usage associated with the development of disease. Despite large increases in the total number of splenic CD4+ T cells with age in diseased mice, we noted little skewing of the V beta repertoire. For example, diseased NZB.H-2bm12 mice failed to exhibit a significant change in the percentage of any V beta subset despite a fivefold increase in the number of CD4+ T cells. Strains without lupus-like disease, including NZB.H-2b mice, demonstrated no increase in CD4+ T cell numbers with age. Similar to NZB.H-2bm12 mice, (NZB x SWR)F, and (NZB x NZW)F1 mice showed disease-related increases in CD4+ T cell numbers, but no changes in V beta repertoire that could be linked to disease development. Differences in V beta usage between young autoimmune and non-autoimmune strains of mice matched for either MHC or background genes were consistent with genetic influences unrelated to disease. Overall, the heterogeneous repertoire of proliferating T cells provides evidence for polyclonal T cell expansion in murine models of lupus and suggests that activation either involves a multitude of conventional self-antigens or may be independent of the TCR. However, the requirement for specific class II MHC molecules suggests that this polyclonal T cell expansion is dependent on a much smaller and specific autoreactive response.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]