TY - JOUR
T1 - Self and non-self discrimination is needed for the existence rather than deletion of autoimmunity
T2 - The role of regulatory T cells in protective autoimmunity
AU - Schwartz, M.
AU - Kipnis, J.
PY - 2004/9
Y1 - 2004/9
N2 - Autoimmune T cells have been viewed for decades as an outcome of immune system malfunction, and specifically as a failure to distinguish between components of self and non-self. The need for discrimination between self and non-self as a way to avoid autoimmunity has been repeatedly debated over the years. Recent studies suggest that autoimmunity, at least in the nervous system, is the body's defense mechanism against deviations from the normal. The ability to harness neuroprotective autoimmunity upon need is evidently allowed by naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, which are themselves controlled by brain-derived compounds. These findings challenge widely accepted concepts of the need for discrimination between self and non-self, as they suggest that while such discrimination is indeed required, it is needed not as a way to avoid an anti-self response but to ensure its proper regulation. Whereas a response to non-self can be self-limited by a decreased presence of the relevant antigen, the response to self needs a mechanism for strict control, such as that provided by the naturally occurring regulatory T cells.
AB - Autoimmune T cells have been viewed for decades as an outcome of immune system malfunction, and specifically as a failure to distinguish between components of self and non-self. The need for discrimination between self and non-self as a way to avoid autoimmunity has been repeatedly debated over the years. Recent studies suggest that autoimmunity, at least in the nervous system, is the body's defense mechanism against deviations from the normal. The ability to harness neuroprotective autoimmunity upon need is evidently allowed by naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, which are themselves controlled by brain-derived compounds. These findings challenge widely accepted concepts of the need for discrimination between self and non-self, as they suggest that while such discrimination is indeed required, it is needed not as a way to avoid an anti-self response but to ensure its proper regulation. Whereas a response to non-self can be self-limited by a decreased presence of the relevant antigen, the response to self needs a mechanism for strict control, such as that provided by the naturally occurring regulatory T cells.
KW - Autoimmune diseases
KW - CD4 CD25 regulatory T cells
KW - CNS injuries
KW - Neurodegeneration
KW - Protective autoimmunity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=6044278031&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00018-004-4233-6
DO - 10.1007/s00018-004-4233-6
M3 - Review article
C2 - 15378200
AN - SCOPUS:6044278031
SN - 1420-682X
VL - 61
SP - 2285
EP - 2289
JO - Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
JF - Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
IS - 18
ER -