Follicular Helper T Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Why Should They Be Considered as Interesting Therapeutic Targets?

ABSTRACT: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by B cell hyperactivity leading to the production of autoantibodies, some of which having a deleterious effect. Reducing autoantibody production thus represents a way of controlling lupus pathogenesis, and a better understanding of the molecular and cellular factors involved in the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells could allow identifying new therapeutic targets. Follicular helper T cells (TFH) represent a distinct subset of CD4(+) T cells specialized in providing help to B cells. They are required for the formation of germinal centers and the generation of long-lived serological memory and, as such, are suspected to play a central role in SLE. Recent advances in the field of TFH biology have allowe

SUBMITTER: Sawaf M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5011227 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature