Loss of c-REL but not NF-?B2 prevents autoimmune disease driven by FasL mutation.

ABSTRACT: FASL/FAS signaling imposes a critical barrier against autoimmune disease and lymphadenopathy. Mutant mice unable to produce membrane-bound FASL (FasL(?m/?m)), a prerequisite for FAS-induced apoptosis, develop lymphadenopathy and systemic autoimmune disease with immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis. Prior to disease onset, FasL(?m/?m) mice contain abnormally high numbers of leukocytes displaying activated and elevated NF-?B-regulated cytokine levels, indicating that NF-?B-dependent inflammation may be a key pathological driver in this multifaceted autoimmune disease. We tested this hypothesis by genetically impairing canonical or non-canonical NF-?B signaling in FasL(?m/?m) mice by deleting the c-Rel or NF-?B2 genes, respectively. Although the loss of NF-?B2 reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines and autoantibodies, the impact on animal survival was minor due to substantially accelerated and exacerbated lymphoproliferative disease. In contrast, a marked increase in lifespan resulting from the loss of c-REL coincided with a striking reduction in classical parameters of autoimmune pathology, including the levels of cytokines and antinuclear autoantibodies. Notably, the decrease in regulatory T-cell numbers associated with loss of c-REL did not exacerbate autoimmunity in FasL(?m/?m)c-rel(-/-) mice. These findings indicate that selective inhibition of c-REL may be an attractive strategy for the treatment of autoimmune pathologies driven by defects in FASL/FAS signaling that would be expected to circumvent many of the complications caused by pan-NF-?B inhibition.

SUBMITTER: O'Reilly LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4392074 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature