Dendritic cells: potential triggers of autoimmunity and targets for therapy

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Abstract
It has been thought for a long time that regulatory T cells are related to the pathogenesis of lupus.10, 11 Now, at the forefront of this consideration is the possibility that DCs play a critical role in balancing the array of autoreactive T cells with a corresponding set of regulatory T cells.12 It is clear that immature DCs induce deletional tolerance of autoreactive T cells in the periphery.13– 15 However, the original concept that immature DCs are responsible for tolerance and mature DCs induce immune responses has given way to a more complex scenario in which DCs in different states of maturation are able to induce CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells.16, 17 In this paper, my aim is to consider the possibility that the maturation of DCs might be manipulated in such a way as to either enhance regulatory T cell generation or diminish priming of autoreactive effector T cells in patients with lupus.