Development of Autoimmune Disease Models Based on FcyRIIB-Deficient Mice

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The receptors for Fc protion of immunoglobulins, Fc receptors (FcRs), combine innate and adaptive immunity and are critical elements to activate or down-modulate the immune responses. Activity of various cells in the immune system is intimately regulated by the balanced signaling through FcRs. Development of many autoimmune diseases in humans may now be interpreted by the impairement in the FcR regulatory system. To address the question whether the type IIB Fc receptor for IgG (FcγRIIB)-deficient mice (RIIB-/-) are susceptible to induction of various autoimmune diseases, we tested to induce type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), a model for rheumatoid arthritis in humans. We found that RIIB-/- on a non-permissive H-2b background become susceptible to CIA induction. Moreover, we could induce Goodpasture' s syndrome (GPS) in RIIB-/- by immunization with type IV collagen. Quite similar to human GPS, RIIB-/- develop massive pulmonary hemorrhage and glomerulonephritis. These results highlight the role of FcγRIIB in maintaining tolerance and suggest that it may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and GPS in humans.