Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Amanda Robe, Emeritus Professor John Kirby, Professor David Jones, Dr Jeremy Palmer
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
The key immunological event in the pathogenesis of the autoimmune liver disease primary biliary cirrhosis is breakdown of T-cell self-tolerance to pyravate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). The mechanism resulting in this breakdown of tolerance remains unclear. Mice exposed to self-PDC mount no immune response; however, animals coexposed to self-PDC and PDC of foreign origin (which in isolation induces a cross-reactive antibody but not an autoreactive T-cell response) show breakdown of T-cell as well as B-cell tolerance. This observation raises the possibility that a cross-reactive antibody response to self-PDC can promote breakdown of T-cell tolerance. The aim of this study was to address the hypothesis that breakdown of T-cell tolerance to PDC can be driven by the presence of B cells and/or antibodies cross-reactive with this self-antigen. Naive female SJL/J mice were exposed to self-PDC alone and in the presence of purified splenic B cells from animals primed with foreign PDC (or controls) or purified immunoglobulin (Ig) G from the same animals. Breakdown of T-cell tolerance was assessed by splenic T-cell proliferative response to antigen at 5 weeks. CD4+ T-cell proliferative responses indicative of breakdown of T-cell tolerance to self-PDC were seen in the majority (7 of 9, 78%) of animals receiving self-PDC together with purified PDC-reactive B cells. Tolerance breakdown was not seen in animals receiving self-PDC with purified anti-PDC IgG or with B cells from animals sensitized with an irrelevant antigen. In conclusion, breakdown of T-cell tolerance to the highly conserved self-antigen PDC may be mediated by high-level presentation of self-derived epitopes by activated cross-reactive B cells. Copyright © 2005 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Author(s): Robe AJ, Kirby JA, Jones DEJ, Palmer JM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Hepatology
Year: 2005
Volume: 41
Issue: 5
Pages: 1106-1112
Print publication date: 01/05/2005
ISSN (print): 0270-9139
ISSN (electronic): 1527-3350
Publisher: Wiley
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hep.20642
DOI: 10.1002/hep.20642
PubMed id: 15830397
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
