Reports from University of California advance knowledge in autoimmune disease
2007 NOV 20 -- Investigators publish new data in the report 'Apoptosis during negative selection of autoreactive thymocytes.' "Recent investigations have solidified the importance of negative selection in controlling autoimmunity. Loss of autoimmune regulator (AIRE), required for thymic stromal-cell differentiation and thymic expression of peripheral antigens, results in multi-organ autoimmunity," scientists in the United States report. "Mice with AIRE/Foxp3 double mutations suffer from exacerbated autoimmunity when compared with mice with only one mutation, supporting the important contributions of both central and peripheral tolerance. In thymocytes, Cbl is a negative regulator of thymocyte apoptosis while MINK, a MEKK kinase, is required for negative selection. This is consistent with the requirement of JNK, p38 and possibly ERK5 MAP kinases in thymocyte apoptosis. ERK5 induces the Nur77 orphan steroid receptor family members. In cell lines, Nur77 interaction with Bcl-2 turns Bcl-2 into a pro-apoptotic molecule," wrote S.J. Sohn and colleagues, University of California. The researchers concluded: "This and other possibilities will be discussed to explain the unresolved finding that negative selection is defective in Bim(-/-) but is not efficiently blocked in Bcl-2 transgenic mice." Sohn and colleagues published their study in Current Opinion In Immunology (Apoptosis during negative selection of autoreactive thymocytes. Current Opinion In Immunology, 2007;19(5):510-5). For more information, contact S.J. Sohn, University of California, Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology and Cancer Research Laboratory, 465 LSA, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200 USA.. Publisher contact information for the journal Current Opinion In Immunology is: Current Biology Ltd., 84 Theobalds Rd., London WC1X 8RR, England. Keywords: United States, Berkeley, Apoptosis, Autoimmune Disease, Autoimmune Disorder, Immunology. This article was prepared by Life Science Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Life Science Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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