IMMUNE CELL SIGNALING ABERRATIONS IN HUMAN LUPUS

A large array of heterogeneous aberrations of the immune system have b een described in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Since the functio n and the fate of the immune system cells are governed principally by the biochemical events that follow ligation of specialized cell-surfac e receptors, we will review in this article recent developments in our understanding of abnormalities in the biochemistry of signals generat ed either by the antigen-receptor complex or by systems of costimulato ry cell-surface molecules, like the CD28/CTLA4:CD80/CD86 and the CD40: CD40L pairs found on the surface membrane of lupus immune cells.