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:

SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Skin–kidney crosstalk in SLE

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 17, pages 253–254 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

A multitude of factors contribute to the development and progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through their effects on immune cells and tissue resident cells. Ultraviolet light instigates skin inflammation in SLE, and now new findings suggest that neutrophils in the inflamed skin migrate to the kidneys, spreading the inflammatory response.

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

Fig. 1: Ultraviolet light-mediated migration of neutrophils from the skin to the kidneys.

References

  1. Tsokos, G. C. Autoimmunity and organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus. Nat. Immunol. 21, 605–614 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wolf, S. J., Estadt, S. N., Gudjonsson, J. E. & Kahlenberg, J. M. Human and murine evidence for mechanisms driving autoimmune photosensitivity. Front. Immunol. 9, 2430 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Skopelja-Gardner, S. et al. Acute skin exposure to ultraviolet light triggers neutrophil-mediated kidney inflammation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 118, e2019097118 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Deng, G. M. & Tsokos, G. C. Pathogenesis and targeted treatment of skin injury in SLE. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 11, 663–669 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Psarras, A. et al. Functionally impaired plasmacytoid dendritic cells and non-haematopoietic sources of type I interferon characterize human autoimmunity. Nat. Commun. 11, 6149 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Stielke, S. K. et al. Adhesion molecule expression precedes brain damages of lupus-prone mice and correlates with kidney pathology. J. Neuroimmunol. 252, 24–32 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Miossec, P. & Kolls, J. K. Targeting IL-17 and TH17 cells in chronic inflammation. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 11, 763–776 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Koga, T., Ichinose, K. & Tsokos, G. C. T cells and IL-17 in lupus nephritis. Clin. Immunol. 185, 95–99 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yan, J. J. et al. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment ameliorates lupus nephritis through the expansion of regulatory T cells. BMC Nephrol. 17, 175 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Carmona-Rivera, C. & Kaplan, M. J. Low-density granulocytes: a distinct class of neutrophils in systemic autoimmunity. Semin. Immunopathol. 35, 455–463 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Antonios G. A. Kolios & George C. Tsokos

  2. Department of Immunology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Antonios G. A. Kolios

Authors
  1. Antonios G. A. Kolios
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. George C. Tsokos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to George C. Tsokos.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kolios, A.G.A., Tsokos, G.C. Skin–kidney crosstalk in SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol 17, 253–254 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00588-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00588-0

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