Abstract
Achieving remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains elusive despite current biological therapeutics. Consequently, interest
has increased in strategies to re-establish immune tolerance to provide long-term disease suppression. Although dendritic cells
(DC) are prime candidates in initiating autoreactive T cell responses, and their presence within the synovial environment suggests
a role in generation and maintenance of autoreactive, synovial T cell responses, their functional importance remains unclear. We
investigated the contribution made by plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) in the spontaneous breach of tolerance to arthritis-related self
proteins, including rheumatoid factor, citrullinated peptide, and type II collagen observed in a novel arthritis model. Selective pDC
depletion in vivo enhanced the severity of articular pathology and enhanced T and B cell autoimmune responses against type II
collagen. pDC may offer a net anti-inflammatory function in the context of articular breach of tolerance. Such data will be vital
in informing DC modulatory/therapeutic approaches.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 963-968 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Immunology |
Volume | 182 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2009 |
Keywords
- plasmacytoid dendritic cells
- autoimmune arthritis