Cloning And Expression Of A Genetically Engineered Single-chain Fv Retains Specificity For Mouse IgD

Production of autoantibodies, a characteristic of autoimmune disease, is closely related to disorder of immunological tolerance. Two key censoring mechanisms are known to operate on B lymphocytes repertoires: functional silencing of self-reactive cells, termed clonal anergy, and physical elimination of self-reactive cells, termed clonal deletion. Of the two, breakdown of elimination seemed to be the main reason for over-proliferation of autoantibody-secreting cells. Deletion of B cells in the periphery may be important in the prevention of tissue-specific autoimmune disease.Recent studies have showed that hypercross-linking sIg receptors by monoclonal antibodies on mature B cells induces apoptosis (AICD, activation-induced cell death) and interferences with tolerance induction. The mechanism responsible for the different sIg-associated molecule and signal transduction...