AUTHOR=Pipi Elena , Nayar Saba , Gardner David H. , Colafrancesco Serena , Smith Charlotte , Barone Francesca 

TITLE=Tertiary Lymphoid Structures: Autoimmunity Goes Local

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01952

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.01952

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are frequently observed in target organs of autoimmune diseases. TLS present features of secondary lymphoid organs such as segregated T and B cell zones, presence of follicular dendritic cell networks, high endothelial venules and specialized lymphoid fibroblasts and display the mechanisms to support local adaptive immune responses toward locally displayed antigens. TLS detection in the tissue is often associated with poor prognosis of disease, auto-antibody production and malignancy development. This review focuses on the contribution of TLS toward the persistence of the inflammatory drive, the survival of autoreactive lymphocyte clones and post-translational modifications, responsible for the pathogenicity of locally formed autoantibodies, during autoimmune disease development.</p>