Autoimmunity Caused by Cell Type-Specific Deficiency in Apoptosis.

Apoptosis in the immune system is essential for maintaining self-tolerance. Defective apoptosis causes systemic autoimmune diseases in humans and mice. However, inhibition of apoptosis in lymphocytes alone does not induce significant autoimmune responses, indicating that impaired apoptosis in other cell types plays a critical role in the breakdown of self-tolerance. To study whether apoptosis in dendritic cells (DCs) regulates self-tolerance, we generated transgenic mice expressing a potent caspase inhibitor from baculovirus, p35, in dendritic cells (DC-p35). DC-p35 transgenic mice displayed defective apoptosis in DCs, leading to DC accumulation, chronic lymphocyte activation and systemic autoimmune manifestations resembling the phenotypes in Fas-deficient lpr mice. Our results suggest that apoptosis in DCs is critical for limiting lymphocyte activation and preventing autoimmunity.