Publications by authors named "Lucy E Ballantine"
The pro-inflammatory potential of T cells in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.
Pediatr Rheumatol Online J
January 2014
Background: T cells are important to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease progression. This study determined the pro-inflammatory potential of T cells within the rare condition juvenile-onset SLE (JSLE).
Method: IL-17A and Th1/Th2-related cytokine concentrations were measured in plasma/serum from JSLE patients (n = 19, n = 11) and HC (n = 18, n = 7).
Objectives: Macrophages are central to the inflammatory processes driving rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovitis. The molecular pathways that are induced in synovial macrophages and thereby promote RA disease pathology remain poorly understood.
Methods: We used microarray to characterise the transcriptome of synovial fluid (SF) macrophages compared with matched peripheral blood monocytes from patients with RA (n=8).
Article Synopsis
- The resolution of immune responses is important to prevent autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation.
- When interacting with CD4+CD25- T cells, human monocytes become activated but are more likely to undergo apoptosis, unlike when they are co-cultured with CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), which promotes their survival and an anti-inflammatory state.
- The study highlights the role of FAS/FAS-L interaction in inducing monocyte death by responder T cells, and suggests that effective inflammation resolution requires both the killing of potentially harmful monocytes and the presence of Tregs to foster an anti-inflammatory environment.
MicroRNA (miRNA) species (miR) regulate mRNA translation and are implicated as mediators of disease pathology via coordinated regulation of molecular effector pathways. Unraveling miR disease-related activities will facilitate future therapeutic interventions. miR-155 recently has been identified with critical immune regulatory functions.
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