Microparticles as a source of extracellular DNA.

Microparticles are small membrane-bound vesicles that display pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic activities important in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of diseases. These particles are released from activated and dying cells and incorporate nuclear and cytoplasmic molecules for extracellular export. Of these molecules, DNA is a central autoantigen in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). As studies in our laboratory show, DNA occurs prominently in microparticles, translocating into these structures during apoptotic cell death. This DNA is antigenically active and can bind to lupus anti-DNA autoantibodies. These findings suggest that microparticles are an important source of extracellular DNA to serve as an autoantigen and autoadjuvant in SLE.

微粒是一种小的膜结合囊泡，在多种疾病的发病机制中具有重要的促炎和促血栓形成活性。这些微粒从活化和濒死的细胞中释放出来，并包含用于细胞外输出的细胞核和细胞质分子。在这些分子中，DNA是系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的核心自身抗原。正如我们实验室的研究表明，DNA显著存在于微粒中，在细胞凋亡过程中转移到这些结构中。这种DNA具有抗原活性，能够与狼疮抗DNA自身抗体结合。这些发现表明，微粒是细胞外DNA的一个重要来源，可作为系统性红斑狼疮中的自身抗原和自身佐剂。