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Relationship: 2022

Title

A descriptive phrase which clearly defines the two KEs being considered and the sequential relationship between them (i.e., which is upstream, and which is downstream). More help

Increase of Th2 cells producing IL-4 leads to Increase of autoantibody production

Upstream event
The causing Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help
Downstream event
The responding Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Key Event Relationship Overview

The utility of AOPs for regulatory application is defined, to a large extent, by the confidence and precision with which they facilitate extrapolation of data measured at low levels of biological organisation to predicted outcomes at higher levels of organisation and the extent to which they can link biological effect measurements to their specific causes.Within the AOP framework, the predictive relationships that facilitate extrapolation are represented by the KERs. Consequently, the overall WoE for an AOP is a reflection in part, of the level of confidence in the underlying series of KERs it encompasses. Therefore, describing the KERs in an AOP involves assembling and organising the types of information and evidence that defines the scientific basis for inferring the probable change in, or state of, a downstream KE from the known or measured state of an upstream KE. More help

AOPs Referencing Relationship

AOP Name Adjacency Weight of Evidence Quantitative Understanding Point of Contact Author Status OECD Status
Binding to estrogen receptor (ER)-α in immune cells leading to exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) adjacent Moderate Moderate Yasuharu Otsubo (send email) Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite Under Development

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) that help to define the biological applicability domain of the KER.In general, this will be dictated by the more restrictive of the two KEs being linked together by the KER.  More help

Sex Applicability

An indication of the the relevant sex for this KER. More help

Life Stage Applicability

An indication of the the relevant life stage(s) for this KER.  More help

Key Event Relationship Description

Provides a concise overview of the information given below as well as addressing details that aren’t inherent in the description of the KEs themselves. More help

During process of B cell maturation, the autoreactive B cell which has high-affinity for DNA are normally silenced by anergy, and activated by stimulation with antigen independent CD40 ligand (CD154) or IL-4 from Th2 cells.  The receptor for IL-4 is IL-4Rα, which expresses in B cells.  In the development of T-cell dependent antibody producing cells, the interaction between IL-4 and its receptor stimulates B-cells to mature (proliferate, switch immunoglobulin classes).  As a result, production of anti-DNA antibody from activated autoreactive B cells in increased.

Evidence Collection Strategy

Include a description of the approach for identification and assembly of the evidence base for the KER. For evidence identification, include, for example, a description of the sources and dates of information consulted including expert knowledge, databases searched and associated search terms/strings.  Include also a description of study screening criteria and methodology, study quality assessment considerations, the data extraction strategy and links to any repositories/databases of relevant references.Tabular summaries and links to relevant supporting documentation are encouraged, wherever possible. More help

Evidence Supporting this KER

Addresses the scientific evidence supporting KERs in an AOP setting the stage for overall assessment of the AOP. More help
Biological Plausibility
Addresses the biological rationale for a connection between KEupstream and KEdownstream.  This field can also incorporate additional mechanistic details that help inform the relationship between KEs, this is useful when it is not practical/pragmatic to represent these details as separate KEs due to the difficulty or relative infrequency with which it is likely to be measured.   More help

Lack of ERα, in either male or female mice, did not increase B cell precursors (Smithson G. 1998).  Restoration of estradiol in ovariectomized NZB/W F1 mice reestablished high numbers of autoantibody-producing (DNA-specific) B cells, and thereby suggests a pathogenic role of estrogen in lupus (Daniel P. 2011). 

Anergic B cells, dsDNA-specific models, can be stimulated by IL-4 specific antibody in vitro, suggesting that they are capable of responding to T-cell-derived signals (Acevedo-Suarez CA. 2005, Noorchashm H. 1999, Mandik-Nayak L. 2000, Eris JM. 1994).

Transfer of either IL-4-stimulated splenocytes from 5-mo-old NZB/W F1 mice into NZB/W F1 mice of the same age enhanced the production of IgG anti-dsDNA Ab.  Consistently, administration of mAb against IL-4 before the onset of lupus was effective in preventing the onset of lupus nephritis (Nakajima A. 1997).

Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
Addresses inconsistencies or uncertainties in the relationship including the identification of experimental details that may explain apparent deviations from the expected patterns of concordance. More help

Estrogen upregulates CD40L (CD154) on T cells from SLE patients (Desai-Mehta A. 1996, Li X. 2006).  Anti-CD40L antibodies downregulate CD86 expression on normal and SLE B lymphocytes, blockade of CD86 only diminishes anti-DNA antibody production by SLE B cells (Nagafuchi H. 2003).  Moreover, mice overexpressing CD40L develop a lupus-like disease with high levels of antibodies to nuclear antigens, DNA, and histones, as well as glomerulonephritis (Higuchi T. 2002).  Activation of autoreactive B cell may be involved in stimulation not only IL-4, but also CD40 ligand (CD154) of Th2 cell as well as the other immune cells.

B1 cells from aged mice exhibited increased expression of ERα mRNA compared to young mice (Yurino H. 2004).  Since the ER of B cell is also expressed, there may be a direct route that does not go through Th2.

Known modulating factors

This table captures specific information on the MF, its properties, how it affects the KER and respective references.1.) What is the modulating factor? Name the factor for which solid evidence exists that it influences this KER. Examples: age, sex, genotype, diet 2.) Details of this modulating factor. Specify which features of this MF are relevant for this KER. Examples: a specific age range or a specific biological age (defined by...); a specific gene mutation or variant, a specific nutrient (deficit or surplus); a sex-specific homone; a certain threshold value (e.g. serum levels of a chemical above...) 3.) Description of how this modulating factor affects this KER. Describe the provable modification of the KER (also quantitatively, if known). Examples: increase or decrease of the magnitude of effect (by a factor of...); change of the time-course of the effect (onset delay by...); alteration of the probability of the effect; increase or decrease of the sensitivity of the downstream effect (by a factor of...) 4.) Provision of supporting scientific evidence for an effect of this MF on this KER. Give a list of references.  More help

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Response-response Relationship
Provides sources of data that define the response-response relationships between the KEs.  More help

MIE:

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KE XX:

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Time-scale
Information regarding the approximate time-scale of the changes in KEdownstream relative to changes in KEupstream (i.e., do effects on KEdownstream lag those on KEupstream by seconds, minutes, hours, or days?). More help

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Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Define whether there are known positive or negative feedback mechanisms involved and what is understood about their time-course and homeostatic limits. More help

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Domain of Applicability

A free-text section of the KER description that the developers can use to explain their rationale for the taxonomic, life stage, or sex applicability structured terms. More help

References

List of the literature that was cited for this KER description. More help
  1. Smithson G, Couse JF, Lubahn DB, Korach KS, Kincade PW. The role of estrogen receptors and androgen receptors in sex steroid regulation of B lymphopoiesis. J Immunol. 1998;161(1):27-34.
  2. Daniel, P., Allison, S., Yiming, Y., Ying-Yi, Z. and Laurence, M. Murine Models of Systemic Lupus erythematosus. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology 2011: ArticleID 271694
  3. Acevedo-Suarez CA, Hulbert C, Woodward EJ, Thomas JW. Uncoupling of anergy from developmental arrest in anti-insulin B cells supports the development of autoimmune diabetes. J. Immunol. 2005; 174:827-833.
  4. Noorchashm H, et al. Characterization of anergic anti-DNA B cells: B cell anergy is a T cellindependent and potentially reversible process. Int. Immunol. 1999; 11:765-776.
  5. Mandik-Nayak L, et al. Functional consequences of the developmental arrest and follicular exclusion of anti-double-stranded DNA B cells. J. Immunol. 2000; 164:1161-1168.
  6. Eris JM, et al. Anergic self-reactive B cells present self-antigen and respond normally to CD40-dependent T-cell signals but are defective in antigen-receptor-mediated functions. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 1994; 91:4392-4396.
  7. Nakajima A, Hirose S, Yagita H and Okumura K, Roles of IL-4 and IL-12 in the development of lupus in NZB/W F1 mice. J Immunol 1997; 158 (3) 1466-1472.
  8. Wu WM., Lin, B.-F., Su, Y.-C., Suen, J.-L. and Chiang, B.-L. (2000). Tamoxifen decreases renal inflammation and alleviates disease severity in autoimmune NZB/W F1 mice. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology 52(4): 393-400.
  9. Peeva, E., Venkatesh, J. and Diamond, B. (2005). Tamoxifen Blocks Estrogen-Induced B Cell Maturation but Not Survival. The Journal of Immunology 175: 1415-1423.
  10. Bynote, KK. Hackenberg, JM., Korach, KS, Lubahn, DB., Lane, PH.and Gould, KA. (2008). Estrogen receptor-alpha deficiency attenuates autoimmune disease in (NZB xNZW) F1 mice. Genes and Immunity. 9: 137-152.
  11. Desai-Mehta A, Lu L, Ramsey-Goldman R, Datta SK. Hyperexpression of CD40 ligand by B and T cells in human lupus and its role in pathogenic autoantibody production. J Clin Invest. 1996. 1;97(9):2063-73.
  12. Li X, Rider V, Kimler BF, Abdou NI. Estrogen does not regulate CD154 mRNA stability in systemic lupus erythematosus T cells. Lupus. 2006;15(12):852-7.
  13. Nagafuchi H, Shimoyama Y, Suzuki N, et al. Preferential expression of B7.2 (CD86), but not B7.1 (CD80), on B cells induced by CD40/CD40L interaction is essential for anti-DNA autoantibody production in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003;21(1):71-7.
  14. Higuchi T, Aiba Y, Tsubata T. Cutting Edge: ectopic expression of CD40 ligand on B cells induces lupus-like autoimmune disease. J Immunol. 2002. 1;168(1):9-12.
  15. Yurino, H., Ishikawa, S., Sato, T., Akadegawa, K., Ito, T., Ueha, S., Inadera, H. and Matsushima, K. (2004). Endocrine disruptors (environmental estrogens) enhance autoantibody production by B1 cells. Toxicological Sciences 81(1): 139-147.