Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
9
pubmed:dateCreated
2011-4-20
pubmed:abstractText
Autoreactive CD8(+) T lymphocytes play a key role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. It is not yet well understood how autoreactive CD8(+) T cells, which express TCRs with low reactivity toward self-Ags, gain the ability to respond to autoantigens to cause disease. Previously, we have shown that prior stimulation of CD8(+) T cells with synergistic combinations of cytokines produced by the innate immune response, such as IL-21 and IL-15, induces Ag-independent proliferation. Such "cytokine-primed" CD8 T cells displayed increased responsiveness to limiting quantities of the cognate Ag. In this paper, we report that prior stimulation with IL-15 and IL-21 also enables CD8(+) T cells to respond to weakly agonistic TCR ligands, resulting in proliferation, cytokine secretion, and cytolytic activity. Using a transgenic mouse model of autoimmune diabetes, we show that cytokine-primed autoreactive CD8(+) T cells induce disease following stimulation by weak TCR ligands, but their diabetogenic potential is dependent on continuous availability of IL-15 in vivo. These findings suggest that inflammatory cytokines could facilitate the triggering of autoreactive CD8(+) T cells by weak autoantigens, and this mechanism may have important implications for autoimmune diseases associated with microbial infections and chronic inflammation.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
1550-6606
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
186
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
5131-41
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2011
pubmed:articleTitle
Exposure to IL-15 and IL-21 enables autoreactive CD8 T cells to respond to weak antigens and cause disease in a mouse model of autoimmune diabetes.
pubmed:affiliation
Immunology Division, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 5N4, Canada. Sheela.Ramanathan@Usherbrooke.ca
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't