Why do B cells become anergic?
Lymphocytes are said to be anergic when they fail to respond to their specific antigen. Anergy is one of three processes that induce tolerance, modifying the immune system to prevent self-destruction (the others being clonal deletion and immunoregulation).
What is Anergic B cells?
Abstract. Anergy, a condition in which cells persist in the periphery but are unresponsive to antigen, is responsible for silencing many self-reactive B cells. Loss of anergy is known to contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and type 1 diabetes.
How does anergy occur?
The activated immune system is one in which the white blood cells are actively mounting a response to an antigen or pathogen. Anergy, or immune intolerance, occurs when the there is a failure to mount a complete immune response to an antigen. Anergy can occur in both T and B lymphocytes.
Is clonal anergy reversible?
Clonal anergy is another mechanism of peripheral tolerance to self-antigens. In the context of oral tolerance, its involvement was first demonstrated based on a study that showed T cell tolerance could be reversed in vitro by exogenous IL-2 (Whitacre et al., 1991).
What does it mean when your lymphocytes are anergic?
An individual in a state of anergy often indicates that the immune system is unable to mount a normal immune response against a specific antigen, usually a self-antigen. Lymphocytes are said to be anergic when they fail to respond to their specific antigen.
What does it mean when your immune system is anergic?
An individual in a state of anergy often indicates that the immune system is unable to mount a normal immune response against a specific antigen, usually a self-antigen. Lymphocytes are said to be anergic when they fail to respond to their specific antigen. Anergy is one of three processes that induce tolerance,…
How is anergy used to treat autoimmune diseases?
Anergy may also be used to induce activated lymphocytes to become unresponsive with autoimmune diseases like diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Likewise, preventing anergy in response to a tumoral growth may help in anti-tumor responses. It might also be used for immunotherapeutic treatment of allergies.
Who was first to describe clonal anergy in B lymphocytes?
This phenomenon was first described in B lymphocytes by Gustav Nossal and termed “clonal anergy.” The clones of B lymphocytes in this case can still be found alive in the circulation, but are ineffective at mounting immune responses. Later Ronald Schwartz and Marc Jenkins described a similar process operating in the T lymphocyte.