| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
We examined in this study the functions of follicular helper T cells, which induce antibody production by B cells by producing IL-21, in the autoantibody production in rheumatoid arthritis. We found that mice deficient for IL-21 receptor were resistant for the development of experimental arthritis, despite normal induction of follicular helper T cells, due to defective autoantibody production by B cells. In the patient samples, the number of follicular helper T cells in the peripheral blood did not correlate with the disease activity or autoantibody levels. However, IL-21-producing T cells not showing typical phenotypes of follicular helper T cells were abundant in the joint, suggesting their involvement in local autoantibody production and ectopic germinal center formation.
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