The Transcription Factor Ets1 Suppresses T Follicular Helper Type 2 Cell Differentiation to Halt the Onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
- Journal:
- Immunity
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.10.012
- Affiliations:
- 4
- Authors:
- 12
Research Highlight
A new therapeutic lead for lupus
© TEK IMAGE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty
A new study explains why a single faulty gene can lead to lupus — a potentially fatal chronic disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own organs and tissues.
A team led by researchers at the Institute for Basic Science engineered various strains of mice, each with a different immune cell population that lacked a working copy of Ets1, a gene linked to lupus in people. Only those mice with Ets1-deficient helper T cells developed a lupus-like autoimmune condition. Those animals showed a proliferation of an immune cell known as a T follicular helper type 2 (Tfh2) cell.
The researchers found that Ets1 normally blocks Tfh2 expansion and an immune signalling molecule called interleukin-4 activates the process. They also demonstrated that blocking interleukin-4 helped reduce Tfh2 levels and ameliorate lupus progression in the mouse model.
The team found that the frequency of Tfh2 cells tracks with disease severity in lupus-affected individuals, suggesting that targeting IL-4 could offer therapeutic benefit to patients.
References
- Immunity 49, 1034–1048.e8 (2018). doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.10.012
Institutions | Authors | Share |
---|---|---|
Division of Life Sciences, IBS, South Korea | 0.63 | |
Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea | 0.21 | |
Ajou University Medical Center, South Korea | 0.17 |