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1: Nat Immunol. 2008 Feb;9(2):166-75. Epub 2007 Dec 23.
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Interleukin 17-producing T helper cells and interleukin 17 orchestrate autoreactive germinal center development in autoimmune BXD2 mice.

Hsu HC, Yang P, Wang J, Wu Q, Myers R, Chen J, Yi J, Guentert T, Tousson A, Stanus AL, Le TV, Lorenz RG, Xu H, Kolls JK, Carter RH, Chaplin DD, Williams RW, Mountz JD.

Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. huichen.hsu@ccc.uab.edu

Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is a cytokine associated with inflammation, autoimmunity and defense against some bacteria. Here we show that IL-17 can promote autoimmune disease through a mechanism distinct from its proinflammatory effects. As compared with wild-type mice, autoimmune BXD2 mice express more IL-17 and show spontaneous development of germinal centers (GCs) before they increase production of pathogenic autoantibodies. We show that blocking IL-17 signaling disrupts CD4+ T cell and B cell interactions required for the formation of GCs and that mice lacking the IL-17 receptor have reduced GC B cell development and humoral responses. Production of IL-17 correlates with upregulated expression of the genes Rgs13 and Rgs16, which encode regulators of G-protein signaling, and results in suppression of the B cell chemotactic response to the chemokine CXCL12. These findings suggest a mechanism by which IL-17 drives autoimmune responses by promoting the formation of spontaneous GCs.

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PMID: 18157131 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]