Plasmacytoid Predendritic Cells Initiating Psoriasis
Title: Plasmacytoid predendritic cells initiate
psoriasis through interferon-alpha production.
Authors: Nestle FO, et al.
Publication: J Exp Med. 2005 Jul 4;202(1):135-43.
Psoriasis is one of the most common T cell-mediated immune disorders
in human, however the exact role of T cell in psoriasis is not
yet known.
In this study, the author showed that a type of immune cells
called plasmacytoid predendritic cell (PDCs) infiltrated psoriatic
skin and became activated to produce a natural interferon-alpha
(INF-alpha)
When the authors blocked the INF-alpha pathway or prevent the
ability of the PDCs to product these interferons in a transplanted
human psoriasis skin, they found that the T cell-dependent development
of psoriasis was also blocked. When they added back the IFN-alpha,
the discovered that psoriasis could then develop.
The authors concluded that PDC-derived IFN-alpha was essential
to the development of psoriasis, and that PDC and the interferon
that it produced could be potential targets for drugs for psoriasis.
Editor’s Note: T cells are a type of white blood
cells that mature in the thymus. These cells have various roles
in the immune system, including identifying foreign antigens or
substances and activating/deactivating other immune cells.
Interferons are groups of glycoprotein that are produced by different
cell types in response to viruses, bacteria, and parasites. It
can prevent viral replication in newly infected cells and can
also trigger other specific cellular functions.
