The Lupus Book: A Guide For Patients And Their Families, Third Edition - Plot & Excerpts
Circulating immune complexes are usually cleared and dispersed through a fil- tering system in which the spleen plays a prominent role. In SLE, this clearance is defective because certain important receptors have lost their binding ability and these complexes are unusually large or small in size or too plentiful. Moreover, in the lupus patient, the body’s ability to control inflammation is hampered because T-suppressor cells develop helper functions and natural killer cells promote B cells instead of killing certain invaders. Indeed, the body’s system of ‘‘tolerance’’ (its ability to distinguish what is self from what is foreign) is altered. The regulation of cytokines is also altered in lupus. ABNORMALITIES IN APOPTOSIS Apoptosis, the Greek word for falling or dropping off, refers to programmed cell death. Normally, cells die by two mechanisms: they are either killed or are genetically programmed to die. Apoptosis genes activated in a pregnant woman ensure that their baby will not have 3 arms, 8 legs, or 4 hearts.
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