News Finding: Male animals with the reduced production of Blimp-1 showed no change in their immune system.
Paper Finding: The increased CTSS activity in DCs of female CKO mice led to increased diversity in the TCR repertoire of T FH cells, which was abolished by a CTSS-specific inhibitor.
News Context: This resulted in an immune system which attacked healthy cells. Male animals with the reduced production of Blimp-1 showed no change in their immune system. Though more study is required to confirm that the risk gene PRDM1 could lead to a hyperactive immune system in human females, this is a significant discovery to better understanding the causes and potential treatments for lupus.
Paper Context: Thus, Bimp-1 directly and indirectly regulated Ctss expression. The increased CTSS activity in DCs of female CKO mice led to increased diversity in the TCR repertoire of T FH cells, which was abolished by a CTSS-specific inhibitor. These findings suggested that an increase in CTSS expression associated with absent or low expression of Blimp-1 generated a repertoire more skewed toward self-reactivity.