Quartuccio L, Fabris M, Ferraccioli G
Clinica di Reumatologia, Università degli Studi di Udine.
Reumatismo. 2004 Jul-Sep;56(3):143-6. doi: 10.4081/reumatismo.2004.143.
Recently, a new member of the TNF family, BLyS, was identified. This protein, synthesized by myeloid cell lines, specifically interacts with B lymphocytes and increases their life-span. BLyS was studied in the murine models of some autoimmune diseases and it was demonstrated that it has a key role in the B lymphocyte system homeostasis and in the relation between chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Analysis of BLyS plasma levels in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren's Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has shown that BLyS is higher in a group of patients than in the controls. In RA, BLyS correlates with the disease activity, in particular, with the swollen joints count; so, at least part of the chronic rheumatoid synovitis could be the epiphenomenon of the B cells activation driven by monocyte-macrophage population. More studies are necessary to understand the role of BLyS in the interaction between the monocyte and the B lymphocyte in some autoimmune disease and the possible usefulness of this cytokine as a diagnostic or prognostic marker and/or therapeutic target.
最近，肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）家族的一个新成员——B淋巴细胞刺激因子（BLyS）被发现。这种由髓系细胞系合成的蛋白质，能特异性地与B淋巴细胞相互作用并延长其寿命。在一些自身免疫性疾病的小鼠模型中对BLyS进行了研究，结果表明它在B淋巴细胞系统的稳态以及慢性炎症与自身免疫的关系中起着关键作用。对系统性红斑狼疮、干燥综合征和类风湿关节炎（RA）患者血浆中BLyS水平的分析表明，一组患者体内的BLyS水平高于对照组。在类风湿关节炎中，BLyS与疾病活动度相关，特别是与肿胀关节计数相关；因此，至少部分慢性类风湿性滑膜炎可能是单核细胞 - 巨噬细胞群体驱动B细胞活化的附带现象。需要更多研究来了解BLyS在某些自身免疫性疾病中单核细胞与B淋巴细胞相互作用中的作用，以及这种细胞因子作为诊断或预后标志物和/或治疗靶点的潜在用途。
