| Causes of Scleroderma (MAIN MENU) |
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| Cause of Scleroderma: B Cells and T Cells |
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| Overview of B Cells and T Cells |
| T cells are white blood cells that help stimulate an immune response to infections. In the thymus gland, lympohocytes are matured into T cells. Sometimes T cells become overactive, which is suspected as being part of the process that leads to autoimmune diseases. |
| B Cells and T Cells.The white blood cells involved in the acquired immune response are called 'lymphocytes'. There are two main types of lymphocytes - B cells and T cells. B and T lymphocytes are made in the bone marrow, like the other blood cells. They have to fully mature before they can help in the immune response. T cells travel through the blood stream to the thymus gland where they become fully developed. Once they are fully mature, they travel to the spleen and lymph nodes, ready to fight infection. Cancer Research UK. |
| Thymus. The thymus is a ductless gland located in the upper anterior portion of the chest cavity. It is most active during puberty, after which it shrinks in size and activity in most individuals and is replaced with fat. The thymus plays an important role in the development of the immune system in early life, and its cells form a part of the body's normal immune system. Wikepedia. |
| They Are Young And Need The Job: A Second Chance For Dangerous T-cells. The immune system's T-cells react to foreign protein fragments and therefore are crucial to combating viruses and bacteria. Errant cells that attack the body's own material are in most cases driven to cell death. Medical News Today 06/18/09. |
| T cells and B cells in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis: recent insights and therapeutic opportunities. Understanding the interplay between T and B cells, and the processes that promote the fibrotic cytokine pattern seen in these patients is of utmost importance for the development of effective therapies to treat the clinical complications. PubMed. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2006 Apr;8(2):123-30. |
| B Cell Targeted Therapies in Autoimmune Diseases. In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, B cells are likely to play a significant role in the development of other autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, myositis, and vasculitis. J Rheumatol 2006 May;33 Suppl 77: 24-28. (Also see: Lupus, Dermatomyositis, and Vasculitis) |
| B Cells and T Cells and Autoimmunity |
| Autoimmunity Cells Found in Healthy Adults. The self-attacking B cells to blame for autoimmune diseases could be on the loose in all of us. (Ivanhoe) Medical Breakthroughs. 01/02/09. (Also see: Autoimmunity) |
| Towards improved immunotherapy. Inducing immune suppression could dampen an abnormal immune response in autoimmune diseases or could reduce a normal immune response to prevent rejection of transplanted organs or cells. Regulatory T cells are an important part of the immune system and can play a suppressive role, but naturally occur in low numbers. EurekAlert! 12/01/09. |
| Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): past, present and future. Tregs maintain immunologic homeostasis and prevent autoimmunty. In humans most workers report CD4+ Tregs are decreased in subjects with active SLE, but they increase with treatment and clinical improvement. D. Horwitz. Arthritis Research & Therapy. Nov 14 2008. (Also see: Lupus) |
| B Cells Can Act Alone In Autoimmune Disease, Yale Researchers Report. B cells, the source of damaging autoantibodies, have long been thought to depend upon T cells for their activation and were not considered important in the initiation of autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.This study suggests that in systemic autoimmune diseases B cells can be activated the absence of T cells. Medical News Today. 08/07/08. |
| Cell Surface Receptors Are All 'Talk' In T Cell Stimulation. Understanding the mechanisms that drive healthy immune responses is important when it comes to combating autoimmune diseases, which occur when cells that should attack invading organisms turn on the body instead. ScienceDaily. 06/13/08. |
| B Cell Mutations That May Cause Cancers And Autoimmune Diseases. B cells, the white blood cells that produce antibodies, form a key part of our 'immune response'. We must maintain exactly the right number of B cells to remain healthy. Medical News Today. 03/03/08. (Also see: Autoimmunity) |
| Association of autoantibodies with Ku and DNA repair proteins in connective tissue diseases. The presence of autoantibodies directed against macromolecular complexes known to play roles in the DNA damage response provides evidence that B-cell responses to latent or persistent DNA damage may be present at the onset or during the development of autoimmunity in certain systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology 2008 47(2):165-171. |
| Triggering the autoimmune response against islets in type 1 diabetes. The authors found that transplanted islet cells, but not bone marrow cells, expressing native B16:Y insulin (tyrosine at position 16 of insulin B chain) restored anti-insulin autoimmunity in mice that lacked native insulin genes. SpiritIndia.com. July 2007. (Also see: Diabetes) |
| Researchers Identify a Potential Role For Retinoic Acid In Autoimmune And Inflammatory Diseases Identified. An important finding, which could eventually lead to a new therapeutic approach for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, psoriasis and others. The studies, conducted in laboratory mice, demonstrated the role of retinoic acid, a substance derived when Vitamin A is broken down in the body, in regulating inflammation. EurekAlert!. 06/1407. (Also see: Autoimmunity) |
| Immunization Against Type 1 Diabetes - Mice Successfully Treated. Researchers in Toulouse (France) and Berlin-Buch have successfully treated type 1 diabetic mice with a vaccination. The researchers showed that, in principle, it is possible to treat autoimmune diseases by inducing "active tolerance". That means activating the immune system so that it no longer attacks the body's own structures, but instead protects them from the immune attack. Medical News Today. 05/24/07. (Also see: Diabetes) |
| Researchers discover connection between allergic diseases and autoimmune diseases. Our study implies that allergic and inflammatory diseases may actually trigger autoimmune diseases by relaxing the controls that normally eliminate newly produced, self-reactive B cells. PhysOrg.com (Nature Immunology) April 3 2007. (Also see: Autoimmunity) |
| Scientists Learn The Origin Of Rogue B Cells. Researchers have provided some new clues into one likely factor for the immune system turning against parts of the body it is designed to protect, leading to autoimmune disease: the early development of immune system cells called B cells. Medical News Today. 02/11/07. |
| B and T Cells and Systemic Sclerosis (SSc, Scleroderma) |
| (PDF) Specific immunotherapy-related scleroderma. Case report. Because allergen-specific immunotherapy disturbs effector and regulator T cells balance, which determines immunological tolerance, it is necessary to get a clearer understanding of the existing association among allergy and autoimmunity before deciding to administer allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients with autoimmune diseases; that is why family history of autoimmunity in the first or second grade might contraindicate specific immunotherapy. Revista Alergia México 2009;56(4):135-44. (Also see: Asthma) |
| The Immunobiology of Systemic Sclerosis. The SSc hallmarks of vascular damage, immunologic activation, and collagen deposition can be traced to 4 major factors: T-cells, fibroblasts, B-cells, and cytokines/chemokines. Significant variations in laboratory data among patients suggest that the pathology reflects a heterogeneous disease. (Science Direct) Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. 02/13/08. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma, Fibroblasts, and Cytokines)) |
| Resistance to Apoptosis in Circulating a/ß and g/d T Lymphocytes from Patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Resistance to apoptosis is present in a/b and g/d T cell lymphocyte subsets of patients with SSc, and several pathways seem to be connected in this setting. J Rheumatol 2006 October;33:2003-14. |
| Prolactin synthesis by lymphocytes from patients with systemic sclerosis. Lymphocytes might contribute to elevated prolactin levels in patients with SSc and these cells themselves may be sensitive to prolactin stimulation. Therefore, a pharmacologic attempt to lower prolactin levels in patients with SSc could proof beneficial. PubMed. Biomed Pharmacother. 2006 Mar 3. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Hormones) |
| The presence of dominant T-cell clones in peripheral blood of patients with collagen vascular disorders. The presence of a dominant T-cell clone in peripheral blood is significantly more frequent in collagen vascular disorders than in controls, especially in patients with scleroderma, whatever the clinical subset. PubMed. Br J Dermatol. 2006 Mar;154(3):445-9. |
