‘Activation‐induced cell death’: a special program able to preserve the homeostasis of the skin?
Open Access
- 1 February 2002
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in Experimental Dermatology
- Vol. 11 (1), 1-11
- https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0625.2002.110101.x
Abstract
The ‘activation‐induced cell death’ (AICD) is a molecular system leading to death of antigen‐activated T lymphocytes, in order to avoid accumulation of harmful cytokine‐releasing cells. This article reviews both the molecular mechanisms working in AICD and the role played by such mechanisms in preventing a number of skin diseases. Specifically, because AICD removes activated and autoreactive T cells through a CD95‐/CD95‐L‐mediated suicide, skin diseases were scrutinized in which such valuable machinery could be lacking. Indeed, at least some inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, can be sustained by an increased survival of activated T lymphocytes associated with deficient CD95‐/CD95‐L‐mediated AICD of such strong pro‐inflammatory cells. In addition, autoreactive skin diseases, including, e.g. alopecia areata, lichen planus and other lichenoid tissue reactions, can be related to autoreactive T lymphocytes which could be unable to undergo CD95‐/CD95‐L‐mediated AICD. Finally, a lack of AICD may be executive even in favoring cutaneous T cell lymphoma. Thus, because inflammatory, autoreactive and neoplastic skin diseases can be associated with a deficient CD95‐/CD95‐L‐mediated suicide of activated T cells, AICD is likely to represent a fundamental program to preserve the homeostasis of the skin. Therapeutic approaches able to restore the AICD machinery promise to successfully treat such relevant skin diseases.Keywords
This publication has 108 references indexed in Scilit:
- Graft-versus-host disease-like immunophenotype and apoptotic keratinocyte death in paraneoplastic pemphigusBritish Journal of Dermatology, 1999
- Role of p53 in UVB-Induced Apoptosis in Human HaCaT KeratinocytesJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 1997
- Apoptosis by Death FactorCell, 1997
- Fas(CD95)/FasL interactions required for programmed cell death after T-cell activationNature, 1995
- Cell-autonomous Fas (CD95)/Fas-ligand interaction mediates activation-induced apoptosis in T-cell hybridomasNature, 1995
- Differential in situ cytokine gene expression in acute versus chronic atopic dermatitis.JCI Insight, 1994
- Activation-induced cell death (apoptosis) of mature peripheral T lymphocytesImmunology Today, 1993
- Clonal expansion precedes anergy and death of Vβ8+ peripheral T cells responding to staphylococcal enterotoxin B in vivoEuropean Journal of Immunology, 1991
- Immunopathologic study of lichenoid skin diseases: Correlation between HLA-DR-positive keratinocytes or Langerhans cells and epidermotropic T cellsJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1988
- The Pathogenesis of Lichen PlanusThe American Journal of Dermatopathology, 1987