scholarly journals Spontaneous autoimmunity prevented by thymic expression of a single self-antigen

2006 ◽  
Vol 203 (12) ◽  
pp. 2727-2735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason DeVoss ◽  
Yafei Hou ◽  
Kellsey Johannes ◽  
Wen Lu ◽  
Gregory I. Liou ◽  
...  

The expression of self-antigen in the thymus is believed to be responsible for the deletion of autoreactive T lymphocytes, a critical process in the maintenance of unresponsiveness to self. The Autoimmune regulator (Aire) gene, which is defective in the disorder autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1, has been shown to promote the thymic expression of self-antigens. A clear link, however, between specific thymic self-antigens and a single autoimmune phenotype in this model has been lacking. We show that autoimmune eye disease in aire-deficient mice develops as a result of loss of thymic expression of a single eye antigen, interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). In addition, lack of IRBP expression solely in the thymus, even in the presence of aire expression, is sufficient to trigger spontaneous eye-specific autoimmunity. These results suggest that failure of thymic expression of selective single self-antigens can be sufficient to cause organ-specific autoimmune disease, even in otherwise self-tolerant individuals.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedeswari C. Ponranjini ◽  
S Jayachandran ◽  
L Kayal ◽  
K Bakyalakshmi

Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome (APS) Type 1 is a rare hereditary disorder that damages organs in the body. This disease entity is the result of a mutation in the AIRE gene. It is characterized by three classic clinical features - hypoparathyroidism, Addison's disease, and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. For a patient to be diagnosed as having APS Type 1 syndrome at least two of these features needs to be present. The third entity may develop as the disease progresses. We report a case of a 35-year-old female patient with a history of seizure from the age of 11 years, who was managed with anticonvulsant drugs. With worsening of the seizure episodes, patient was diagnosed to have hypoparathyroidism together with the manifestations of oral candidiasis, nails dystrophy, enamel hypoplasia, and hypogonadism. A diagnosis of APS-1 was considered. The facility for genetic analysis of the AIRE gene mutation was not accessible, as the test costs were prohibitive and not affordable for the patient. Patient management was directed to treating individual disease components. However, cerebral and dental changes were irreversible.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 362-366
Author(s):  
Viktoriya V. Troshina ◽  
Natalia Yu. Romanova ◽  
Leila S. Sozaeva ◽  
Ekaterina A. Troshina

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) is a rare disease with autosomal recessive inheritance and it caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene. This disease has clinical polymorphism that including besides endocrinopathies other organ-specific manifestations and that complicates to diagnose of this condition on time. However, most often APS-1 has a characteristic debut and a certain stage of clinical symptom manifestation. This article describes a case report of an 18-year-old patient with confirmed APS-1, in which the course of disease was erased over a long period of life and didnt meet of clinical criteria for the diagnosis in this syndrome. A high quality of life for such patients is possible with timely, individually selected replacement therapy with subsequent follow-up. It is important to remember the need for screening in risk groups for the formation of clinical forms of APS among the subjects presenting with a single endocrine pathology. The continuity of medical supervision by pediatric and adult endocrinological service physicians must be respected that can be traced on the example of the case from our practice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Bratanic ◽  
Kai Kisand ◽  
Magdalena Avbelj Stefanija ◽  
Tadej Battelino ◽  
Katarina Trebusak Podkrajsek

Abstract Introduction. Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by mutations in the AIRE gene. The major components of APS-1 are chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC), hypoparathyroidism (HP) and Addison’s disease (AD). Clinical, genetic and immunological characteristics of Slovenian paediatric APS-1 patients were investigated. Methods. Existing medical records of 15 APS-1 patients were rewieved, when necessary, additional clinical and laboratory investigations were issued. AIRE gene analysis was performed to identify causative mutations, and autoantibodies against type I interferons were measured by luminescence immunoprecipitation system. Results. Patients had one to eight different manifestations of the disease. CMC was present in all, HP in 12/15 (80 %) and AD in 8/15 (53 %) patients. Growth retardation, due to hyposomatotropism, growth hormone resistance, autoimmune thyroiditis, corticosteroid treatment, malabsorption or secretory failure of exocrine pancreas, was observed in altogether 7 (46 %) patients. Six different AIRE gene mutations were detected and p.R257X mutation was present in 63.3 % of pathological alleles. Antibodies against type I interferons were detected in all patients. Conclusion. APS-1 is a rare disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, which, if unrecognized or inadequately treated may be fatal. AIRE gene mutational analysis and autoantibodies against type I interferons are important in early identification of the disease. The aetiology of growth retardation was shown to be extremely diverse, frequently caused by less characteristic manifestations. APS-1 may affect patients’ quality of life in numerous ways, and may cause great psychosocial burden leading to depression and suicidal thoughts even in paediatric patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-46
Author(s):  
L S Sozaeva

Type 1 autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (type 1APS) is a rare genetic disease resulting from mutations in the AIRE gene. Diagnostics of this pathology is based not only on the results of genetic studies but also on the measurement of the level of antibodies against type 1 interferons, such as interferon-ω and interferon-α2. The present review of the literature is focused on type 1 interferons, anti-interferon antibodies, and pathophysiological characteristics of the processes induced by these antibodies.


2004 ◽  
Vol 199 (9) ◽  
pp. 1285-1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Kriegel ◽  
Tobias Lohmann ◽  
Christoph Gabler ◽  
Norbert Blank ◽  
Joachim R. Kalden ◽  
...  

In autoimmune polyglandular syndromes (APS), several organ-specific autoimmune diseases are clustered. Although APS type I is caused by loss of central tolerance, the etiology of APS type II (APS-II) is currently unknown. However, in several murine models, depletion of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) causes a syndrome resembling human APS-II with multiple endocrinopathies. Therefore, we hypothesized that loss of active suppression in the periphery could be a hallmark of this syndrome. Tregs from peripheral blood of APS-II, control patients with single autoimmune endocrinopathies, and normal healthy donors showed no differences in quantity (except for patients with isolated autoimmune diseases), in functionally important surface markers, or in apoptosis induced by growth factor withdrawal. Strikingly, APS-II Tregs were defective in their suppressive capacity. The defect was persistent and not due to responder cell resistance. These data provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of APS-II and possibly human autoimmunity in general.


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