IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 7 / DOI: 10.2741/2864

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Chemokines in systemic lupus erythematosus involving the central nervous system
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1 Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, First Department of Internal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(7), 2527–2536; https://doi.org/10.2741/2864
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by multi-organ damage and neuropsychiatric complications (NPSLE) associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of NPSLE is not yet fully understood, but focal symptoms are thought to most likely result from vascular lesions, whereas diffuse manifestations are more likely related to autoantibody- or cytokine-mediated impairment of neuronal function. Recent progress also has provided evidence that levels of several cytokines/chemokines are upregulated in the central nervous systems of NPSLE patients during active disease and downregulated by treatment. In particular, chemokines appear to play significant roles in both inflammatory and immunological processes in the brain. For instance, we recently showed that levels of the soluble form of the chemokine CX3CL1 are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with active NPSLE. In this review, we will discuss the involvement of chemokines in the pathogenesis of NPSLE and their significance as a useful laboratory parameter indicative of active neuropsychiatric disease.

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