Self-reactive CD4+ T cells and B cells in the blood in health and autoimmune disease: increased frequency of thyroglobulin-reactive cells in Graves' disease
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research
The mechanisms underlying activation of potentially self-reactive circulating B cells and T cells remain unclear. We measured the uptake of a self-antigen, thyroglobulin, by antigen presenting cells, and the subsequent proliferation of CD4(+) T cells and B cells from healthy controls and patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. In Hashimoto's thyroiditis, B cells bound increased amounts of thyroglobulin in a complement- and autoantibody-dependent manner, and the thyroglobulin-elicited proliferation of CD4(+) T cells and B cells was complement dependent. Increased proportions of Tg-responsive CD4(+) T cells and B cells were found in patients with Graves' disease. Notably, both patient groups and healthy controls exhibited higher proliferative responses to thyroglobulin than to a foreign recall antigen, tetanus toxoid. Our results suggest that self-tolerance can be broken by exposure of circulating lymphocytes to high local concentrations of self-antigen, and that complement plays a role in the maintenance of autoimmune processes, at least in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Clinical Immunology |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 2 |
Pages (from-to) | 126-37 |
Number of pages | 12 |
ISSN | 0271-9142 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2006 |
ID: 34102946