Reveal the key role of key proteins in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus

Recently, in a research report published in the International Journal of experimental medicine, researchers from Northwestern University in the United States found that the macrophages in mice were The absence of BIM protein may induce lupus like diseases, which suggests that BIM protein may be a new therapeutic target to help scientists develop new effective therapies for lupus Dr Harris Perlman, researcher, said that this study was the first to clarify the important role of BIM protein in monocytes and macrophages in the development of lupus like diseases in mice At present, our idea is to further study the clinical samples of patients Systemic lupus erythematosus is called lupus It is a chronic inflammatory disease, that is, the immune system of patients wrongly attacks their own healthy tissues, including internal organs However, researchers do not know the specific causes of lupus at present According to a popular theory, the production of systemic autoimmunity in lupus is induced by the abnormality of apoptosis and the elimination of these apoptotic cells; and the BIM protein expressed in immune cells can participate in the cell death pathway Previous studies have found that mice without BIM protein gene will progress to lupus like diseases within 12 hours But researchers don't know what kind of immune cells are important for the development of lupus According to the original dogma, it's the immune cells themselves - T cells and B cells - that are troubling, but the targeted action of T cells and B cells designed by the researchers doesn't seem to work, so the researchers suspect that it's something else In the current study, researchers investigated inactivated Bim protein in different cell populations (macrophages and precursor cells monocytes) The researchers found that when the Bim gene was removed from monocytes and macrophages, lupus like disease appeared in mice, which was different from knocking out the same gene in T cells and B cells This study for the first time found that BIM protein may be involved in non cell death pathway, and it also plays a key role in controlling macrophage process, which is expected to develop new disease therapy In addition, researchers have identified a gene characteristic that can predict lupus in mouse kidney macrophages Researchers in the future hope to investigate the same genetic characteristics in human body Their goal is to develop new therapies for lupus patients.