Production of IgG autoantibody requires expression of activation-induced deaminase in early-developing B cells in a mouse model of SLE
19.08.2014
Umiker BR, McDonald G, Larbi A, Medina CO, Hobeika E, Reth M, Imanishi-Kari T.
Eur J Immunol. 2014 Oct;44(10):3093-1
A frequent human autoimmune disease namely Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the presence of pathogenic IgG anti-nuclear antibodies. It is already known that the production of the pathogenic IgG autoantibody requires B-cell activation and the expression of the activation-induced deaminase (AID). What is less clear is the role of AID at different maturation stages of B cell development. We have generated a conditional mouse model that allows to switch-on the AID gene at different stages of B cell differentiation. Here, we show that the expression of AID in earlydeveloping B cells results in somatic hypermutation and the production of pathogenic IgG antibodies. Our results suggest that the pathophysiology of clinical SLE might also be dependent on AID expression in early-developing B cells.
