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Review
. 2009 Dec;9(12):845-57.
doi: 10.1038/nri2637.

Dysregulation of germinal centres in autoimmune disease

Carola G Vinuesa  1 , Iñaki Sanz, Matthew C Cook
Affiliations
Review

Dysregulation of germinal centres in autoimmune disease

Carola G Vinuesa et al. Nat Rev Immunol. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

In germinal centres, somatic hypermutation and B cell selection increase antibody affinity and specificity for the immunizing antigen, but the generation of autoreactive B cells is an inevitable by-product of this process. Here, we review the evidence that aberrant selection of these autoreactive B cells can arise from abnormalities in each of the germinal centre cellular constituents--B cells, T follicular helper cells, follicular dendritic cells and tingible body macrophages--or in the supply of antigen. As the progeny of germinal centre B cells includes long-lived plasma cells, selection of autoreactive B cells can propagate long-lived autoantibody responses and cause autoimmune diseases. Elucidation of crucial molecular signals in germinal centres has led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

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References

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