Journal
TRENDS IN IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 22, Issue 5, Pages 251-255Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S1471-4906(00)01841-X
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Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI44142] Funding Source: Medline
- NIAMS NIH HHS [R01 AR42527, R01 AR41974] Funding Source: Medline
- NIA NIH HHS [R01 AG15043] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [R21 GM58604] Funding Source: Medline
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T-cell diversity is generated through the production of new thymic emigrants. Thymic function declines with age, and the T-cell pool is maintained through homeostatic proliferation of naive peripheral T cells. This article discusses the im pact of thymic output and peripheral T-cell homeostasis on the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is proposed that thymic output is prematurely compromised in RA patients. A compensatory expansion of peripheral T cells results in a contracted and distorted repertoire, possibly favoring T cells with autoreactive potential. Increased risk of autoimmunity, as a consequence of abnormal T-cell population dynamics, could be a common mechanism in chronic inflammatory diseases.
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