Mutated immune cells raise red flags in lupus
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and the University of Washington (UW) have discovered that patients with lupus have unusual mutations that may turn their bodies into battlegrounds.
Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and the University of Washington have uncovered a potential cause for the development of lupus. Patients with the autoimmune disease have been found to have unusual mutations in their neutrophils, which may turn their bodies into battlegrounds. These mutations lead to the production of foreign peptides, which the immune system sees as threats and tries to fight back against.
This internal conflict may contribute to the development of inflammation and other serious lupus symptoms.
The study, published in the journal Nature, examined blood samples from 34 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and discovered that 33 of the 34 lupus patients had neutrophils with splicing mutations not found in healthy individuals. These mutations resulted in the production of foreign peptides that the immune system recognizes as dangerous. T cells and B cells, the immune system's primary fighters, were found to target these mutated neutrophils, leading to a self-amplifying inflammatory circuit.
While the researchers cannot definitively say whether these mutated neutrophils are a root cause of lupus, their findings suggest that they play a significant role in the disease's pathogenesis. The study provides a new perspective on the role of neutrophils in SLE and opens up new avenues for understanding and treating autoimmune diseases.
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