articleBloodMay 4, 2011BRONZE OA

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)–driven accumulation of a novel CD11c+ B-cell population is important for the development of autoimmunity

Howard Hughes Medical Institute · National Jewish Health · +3 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Females are more susceptible than males to many autoimmune diseases. The processes causing this phenomenon are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that aged female mice acquire a previously uncharacterized population of B cells that we call age-associated B cells (ABCs) and that these cells express integrin α(X) chain (CD11c). This unexpected population also appears in young lupus-prone mice. On stimulation, CD11c(+) B cells, both from autoimmune-prone and healthy strains of mice, secrete autoantibodies, and depletion of these cells in vivo leads to reduction of autoreactive antibodies, suggesting that the cells might have a direct role in the development of autoimmunity. We have explored factors…

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