Follicular Helper T Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Why Should They Be Considered as Interesting Therapeutic Targets?

Abstract EN

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by B cell hyperactivity leading to the production of autoantibodies, some of which having a deleterious effect.

Reducing autoantibody production thus represents a way of controlling lupus pathogenesis, and a better understanding of the molecular and cellular factors involved in the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells could allow identifying new therapeutic targets.

Follicular helper T cells ( T F H ) represent a distinct subset of CD4+ T cells specialized in providing help to B cells.

They are required for the formation of germinal centers and the generation of long-lived serological memory and, as such, are suspected to play a central role in SLE.

Recent advances in the field of T F H biology have allowed the identification of important molecular factors involved in T F H differentiation, regulation, and function.

Interestingly, some of these T F H -related molecules have been described to be dysregulated in lupus patients.

In the present review, we give an overview of the aberrant expression and/or function of such key players in lupus, and we highlight their potential as therapeutic targets.