CD74 Deficiency Mitigates Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-like Autoimmunity and Pathological Findings in Mice.

ABSTRACT: CD74 mediates MHC class-II antigenic peptide loading and presentation and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus. C57BL/6 Fas^lpr mice that develop spontaneous lupus-like autoimmunity and pathology showed elevated CD74 expression in the inflammatory cell infiltrates and the adjacent tubular epithelial cells (TECs) in kidneys affected by lupus nephritis but negligible levels in kidneys from age-matched wild-type mice. The inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ or IL-6 induced CD74 expression in kidney TECs in vitro. The presence of kidney TECs from Fas^lpr mice, rather than from wild-type mice, produced significantly stronger histones, dsDNA, and ribonucleoprotein-Smith Ag complex-induced CD4⁺

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5360510 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature