Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic and complex autoimmune disease and pathogenic mechanisms are not well understood. Based on data from SLE patients and GWAS, we developed a mouse model to phenocopy the expression pattern of the PRDM1 risk allele. Mice with a selective deficiency of BLIMP1 in dendritic cells (DCs) (Prdm1 CKO mice) develop SLE with an increased number of T follicular helper cells (TFH) and autoantibodies arising in a germinal center response. Only female mice develop disease. The central hypothesis for the proposed studies is that BLIMP1-deficient DCs alter the selection of T cells in the thymus. We further hypothesize that estrogen and estrogen-receptor mediated signaling play a critical role in BLIMP1-deficient DC function, altering antigen presentation and synergizing with BLIMP1 deficiency to skew to TFH differentiation. The following aims will address these hypotheses.
Aim 1 will determine if the altered TFH repertoire in female Prdm1 CKO mice is determined during thymic selection. We will identify whether BLIMP1-deficient DCs alter the strength of TCR signaling to alter the T cell repertoire. We will explore the function of TFH in female Prdm1 CKO mice and female control mice, and their activation of autoreactive B cells.
Aim 2 will investigate functional changes in DCs and TFH conferred by estrogen receptor signaling. These studies should suggest therapeutic strategies in a defined subset of SLE patients, and advance precision medicine in a disease where many agree that the failure of clinical trials reflects an inadequate understanding of patient heterogeneity.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease that affects approximately one million people in the US, predominantly young women. This project will address the gap in knowledge about the role of the genetic risk factor, PRDM1, in immune dysfunction, and how sex hormones affect the immune perturbation caused by the genetic alteration. The studies will facilitate the development of novel therapies to retard SLE disease progression in a subset of patients.
