Almqvist Nina, Winkler Thomas H, Mårtensson Inga-Lill
Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research; the Sahlgrenska Academy; University of Gothenburg; Gothenburg, Sweden.
Self Nonself. 2011 Jan;2(1):11-18. doi: 10.4161/self.2.1.15087. Epub 2011 Jan 1.
Ever since the days of Ehrlich and the birth of humoral immunity, self-reactivity or 'horror autotoxicus' as referred to by Paul Ehrlich, has been of great concern. For instance, in patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), anti-nuclear and anti-DNA antibodies have been recognized for many years. Despite this, the exact mechanism as to how the immune system fails to protect the individual and allows these autoantibodies to develop in this and other systemic autoimmune diseases remains uncertain. So how can we explain their presence? Evidence suggests that B cells expressing autoreactive antibodies do not normally arise but rather undergo negative selection as they develop. In light of this, it might seem contradictory that not all autoreactive B cell clones are eliminated, although this may not even be the intention since autoantibodies are also found in healthy individuals and may even protect from autoimmunity. Here, we will discuss autoantibodies, in particular those recognizing DNA, with regard to their reactivity and their potentially pathogenic or protective properties.
自从埃利希时代以及体液免疫诞生以来，自身反应性，即保罗·埃利希所说的“自身中毒恐惧”，就一直备受关注。例如，在自身免疫性疾病系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）患者中，抗核抗体和抗DNA抗体已被认识多年。尽管如此，免疫系统未能保护个体并任由这些自身抗体在这种及其他系统性自身免疫性疾病中产生的确切机制仍不明确。那么我们该如何解释它们的存在呢？有证据表明，表达自身反应性抗体的B细胞通常不会产生，而是在发育过程中经历阴性选择。鉴于此，虽然并非所有自身反应性B细胞克隆都会被清除这一点看似矛盾，不过这甚至可能并非本意，因为在健康个体中也能发现自身抗体，它们甚至可能预防自身免疫。在此，我们将讨论自身抗体，尤其是那些识别DNA的自身抗体，涉及其反应性以及潜在的致病或保护特性。
