B-cell and T-cell function in systemic lupus erythematosus
1Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21201.
Abstract:
The process of autoantibody production in systemic lupus erythematosus is characterized by findings of both an antigen-driven response and polyclonal B-cell activation. Autoantibody production does not appear to be critically dependent on the presence of the CD5+ B cell subset. Increasing evidence supports a role for T helper cell type 2 cytokines, such as interleukin-4 and interleukin-6, in promoting and perpetuating B-cell hyperactivity and autoantibody formation.
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