Immunologic Tolerance and Autoimmunity Flashcards
What is ummunological tolerance?
Specific unresponsiveness to an Ag.
What is self-tolerance?
All individuals are tolerant to self-Ags.
What dos central tolerance ensure?
That mature lymphocytes are NOT REACTIVE to self Ags.
What results in autoimmunity?
From Breakdown of self-tolerance.
You know negative selection of self-reactive T lymphocytes in the thymus is not perfect. What is this important?
Low level of physiological auto-reactivity that is crucial to normal immune function.
Is tolerance Ag specific?
Yes
What is central tolerance induced by?
Immature self-reactive lymphocytes in the primary lymphoid organs.
What is peripheral tolerance induced by?
Mature self-reactive lymphocytes in peripheral sites.
In central T cell tolerance, what does TCR signaling in immature T cells trigger?
Mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis - negative selection.
Which 2 things does recognition of self Ags by immature T cells in the thymus lead to?
1) Death of the cells by negative selection.
2) Development of Treg cells that enter peripheral tissues.
In which primary lymphoid organ does central tolerance occur?
thymus
What type of T lymphocytes does a small percentage of T cell that emigrate from the thymus and express FOXP3?
Develop into natural CD4+CD25+CTLA4+ Treg cells.
Which type of T cells are key mediators of peripheral tolerance?
Treg cells
What do Treg cells prevent T cells from providing?
Help to B cells in the production of Abs.
True or False:
In peripheral tolerance, Treg cells may inhibit T cell activation by APCs and inhibit T cell differentiation into CTLs.
True
In addition to the natural Treg cells which differentiate in the thymus, mature T cells outside the thymus can also acquire Treg phenotype and functoin.
True
What are induced Treg cells (iTreg cells)?
Mature T cells OUTSIDE THE THYMUS that acquire Treg phenotype and function.
What signal induces FoxP3 expression in naive CD4+ cells in vitro?
By Ag recognition in the presence of TGF-beta.
if IL-6 is NOT present
Between which two T cells types is there a close developmental relationship?
- iTregs
- Th17
Ag recognition in the presence of TGF-beta induces FoxP3 expression if what?
IL-6 is NOT present.
What happens in Ag recognition in the presence of TGF-beta + IL-6?
Prevents FoxP3 expression, induces expression of the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) related orphan nuclear receptor RORgammat expression and therefore, Th17 cell differentiation.
During Ag recognition in the presence of TGF-beta and not IL-6, will iTregs or Th17 cells result?
iTregs
Central B Cell Tolerance
> Immature B cells that RECOGNIZE SELF AGS in the bone marrow with high avidity die by apoptosis or undergo receptor editing and change the specificity of their BCRs.
What is BCR editing?
Further rearrangement and replacement of the IgL-chain genes that occurs until non-self-recognizing receptors are produced or the cell dies.
What does weak recognition of self Ags in the bone marrow lead to?
Anergy (functional inactivation) of the B cells.
What does BCR signaling promote?
Developmental arrest and continued recombination.
True or False:
Receptor editing of the IgL chain leads to expression of a distinct IgL chain, generating cell-surface immunoglobulin that lacks self-reactivity.
True
What does both RAG1 and RAG2 being turned on?
cell death
In peripheral B cell tolerance, what happens to mature B cells that recognize self Ag in peripheral tissues in the absence of specific Th cells?
Rendered functionally unresponsive or die by apoptosis.
What signaling cascade attenuates BCR signaling?
CD22 inhibitory receptor is phosphorylated by Lyn and then recruits SHP-1 tyrosine phophatase.
What can defects in Lyn tyrosine kinase, SHP-1 tyrosine phosphatase, and the CD22 inhibitory receptor lead to?
autoimmunity
What are the three possibilities in central tolerance?
- deleted
- change BCR specificity (B cells only)
- develop into Treg cells
What are the three possibilities in peripheral tolerance?
- inactivated (anergy)
- deleted (apoptosis)
- suppressed by the Treg cells
What does an AIRE deficiency cause?
autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome
incomplete induction of tolerance in the thymus
What does impaired production of regulatory T cells (FoxP3 deficiency) cause?
IPEX syndrome
What does a complement deficiency of C1q and C4 lead to?
Decreased clearance and impaired tolerance induction by apoptotic cells .
What is CTLA-4 polymorphisms?
Altered immune signaling thresholds.
What gene has a mutation leading to the failure of central tolerance?
AIRE
What gene has a mutation leading to the defective clearance of immune complexes; failure of B cell tolerance?
C4
What gene has a mutation leading to the failure of anergy in CD4) T cells?
CTLA-4
What gene has a mutation leading to the defective deletion of anergic self-reactive B cells; reduced deletion of mature CD4 T cells?
Fas/FasL
What gene has a mutation leading to the deficiency of regulatory T cells?
FoxP3