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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-7-21
pubmed:abstractText
Several factors affect the autoimmune response, including iron-dependent modulation of T cells. Hemopexin is the plasma protein with the highest binding affinity to heme. It mediates heme-iron recovery in the liver, thus controlling heme-iron availability in peripheral cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of hemopexin in the progress of an autoimmune response. To this end, we chose a mouse model of mercury-induced autoimmunity and evaluated the susceptibility of hemopexin-null mice to mercury treatment compared with wild-type controls. In this study we show that lack of hemopexin dampens mercury-induced autoimmune responses in mice. Hemopexin-null mice produced fewer antinuclear autoantibodies and had reduced deposits of immune complexes in the kidney after mercuric chloride treatment compared with wild-type mice. These features were associated with a reduction in activated T cells and lower absolute B cell number in spleen and impaired IgG1 and IgG2a production. In contrast, in hemopexin-null mice the response to OVA/CFA immunization was maintained. In addition, hemopexin-null mice had reduced transferrin receptor 1 expression in T cells, possibly due to the increase in heme-derived iron. Interestingly, CD4(+)T cells isolated from mercury-treated hemopexin-null mice show reduced IFN-gamma-dependent STAT1 phosphorylation compared with that of wild-type mice. Our data suggest that hemopexin, by controlling heme-iron availability in lymphocytes, modulates responsiveness to IFN-gamma and, hence, autoimmune responses.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1550-6606
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
181
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1937-47
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Lack of plasma protein hemopexin dampens mercury-induced autoimmune response in mice.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Genetics, Biology and Biochemistry, and Molecular Biotechnology Center, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. sharmila.fagoonee@unito.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't