Prolactin promotes proliferation of germinal center B cells, formation of plasma cells, and elevated levels of IgG3 anti-dsDNA autoantibodies.

ABSTRACT: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mainly affects females at reproductive age, which has been associated with hormones, such as prolactin (PRL). Different studies suggest that PRL exacerbates the clinical manifestations of SLE both in patients and in mouse models (e.g., the MRL/lpr strain), increasing the production of autoantibodies, which can be deposited as immune complexes and trigger inflammation and damage to different tissues. The objective of this work was to explore the potential mechanisms by which PRL increases the concentration of self-reactive antibodies in the MRL/lpr SLE model. To this end, we determined the role of PRL on the activation and proliferation of germinal center B cells (B-GCs) and their differentiation into antibody-secreting cells (ASCs). We show that the absol

SUBMITTER: Carreon-Talavera R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9641231 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature