Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Autoimmunity

Decoy receptors thwart B cells

Nature volume 404, pages 949–950 (2000)Cite this article

Lupus erythematosus is a debilitating autoimmune disease. It is characterized by pathological defects in many organs; by hyperactive immune cells called B lymphocytes, secreting self-reactive antibodies; and by a many-gene pattern of inheritance. A new piece to the physiological puzzle of this disease was revealed recently in the shape of a protein — called BAFF — that sends B cells into hyperdrive, leading to a lupus-like syndrome in mice1,2. On page 995 of this issue3, Gross and colleagues define two receptors for this protein. They then use this key insight to construct a specific antagonist for BAFF that can slow the progression of certain features of the disease in autoimmune-prone mice. This work may have opened up a new avenue to the treatment of lupus erythematosus.

Many factors, both environmental and genetic — a lot of which remain ill defined4 — contribute to the onset of lupus erythematosus. Animal models have been instrumental in providing clues to the pathology of autoimmune diseases in humans. For example, the first generation of offspring of the ‘New Zealand B and W’ mouse strains develop a lupus-like syndrome at around eight months of age: they have antibodies that react to their own nuclear molecules, including DNA, and a progressively worsening kidney disease5. The symptoms result in part from the immune-reactive complexes deposited in the networks of blood capillaries in the kidneys, and from the presence of activated B cells, which contribute to the inflammatory milieu. Eventually, kidney failure results — much as in the human disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Lupus erythematosus in a mouse model.
Figure 2: Decoy receptors suppress autoimmune diseases.

References

  1. MacKay, F. et al. J. Exp. Med. 190, 1697– 1710 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Khare, S. D. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 97, 3370– 3375 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Gross, J. A. et al. Nature 404, 995–999 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kotzin, B. L. Cell 85, 303–306 ( 1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Morel, L. & Wakeland, E. K. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 10, 718–725 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Nagata, S. Semin. Immunol. 6, 3–8 ( 1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Moore, P. A. et al. Science 9, 260–263 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Mukhopadhyay, A., Ni, J., Zhai, Y., Yu, G.-H & Aggarwal, B. B. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 15978– 15981 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Schneider, P. et al. J. Exp. Med. 189, 1747– 1756 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Von Bülow, G.-U & Bram, R. J. Science 278, 138–141 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Madry, C. et al. Int. Immunol. 10, 1693– 1702 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Chan, O. et al. J. Exp. Med. 189, 1639– 1647 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Immunology La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, 10355 Science Center Drive, San Diego, 92121 , California, USA

    Carl F. Ware

Authors
  1. Carl F. Ware
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl F. Ware.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ware, C. Decoy receptors thwart B cells. Nature 404, 949–950 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35010263

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35010263

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing