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Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Mediated Humoral Autoimmunity, Stephanie M. Dorta-Estremera Ph.D.
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Mediated Humoral Autoimmunity, Stephanie M. Dorta-Estremera Ph.D.
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Humoral autoimmunity is characterized by the breakdown of B cell immune tolerance to self-antigens and consequent production of pathogenic autoantibodies. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), a potent type I interferon (IFN-I) producer, have been linked to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a prototypic systemic humoral autoimmune disease. However, the cellular events that stimulate the development of humoral autoimmunity as a result of pDC activation have not been characterized. Moreover, the B cell subset(s) responsible for the generation of autoantibodies remains to be clearly identified.
The immunization of DNA-containing amyloids into non-autoimmune mice triggers the activation of pDCs and induction …