Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Transl Med. Apr 12, 2016; 5(1): 46-52
Published online Apr 12, 2016. doi: 10.5528/wjtm.v5.i1.46
Naked DNA in cells: An inducer of major histocompatibility complex molecules to evoke autoimmune responses?
Yuqian Luo, Aya Yoshihara, Kenzaburo Oda, Yuko Ishido, Naoki Hiroi, Koichi Suzuki
Yuqian Luo, Aya Yoshihara, Kenzaburo Oda, Yuko Ishido, Koichi Suzuki, Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Medical Technology, Teikyo University, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
Aya Yoshihara, Naoki Hiroi, Department of Education Planning and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan
Kenzaburo Oda, Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper’s literature review, drafting, critical revision, editing, and approval of the final version.
Supported by Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to Suzuki K, No. 15K09444.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Koichi Suzuki, Professor, Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Medical Technology, Teikyo University, 2-11-2 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan. koichis0923@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-39641211 Fax: +81-3-59443354
Received: August 25, 2015
Peer-review started: August 27, 2015
First decision: October 27, 2015
Revised: November 12, 2015
Accepted: December 13, 2015
Article in press: December 14, 2015
Published online: April 12, 2016
Processing time: 229 Days and 22.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: We reviewed the discovery of an unexpected effect of cytosolic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) to induce antigen processing and presenting genes including major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in non-immune cells. We also focus on the current status quo of the overall research in the field with highlight on our recent findings that suggest cell injury-induced self-cytosolic dsDNA is a potential trigger in the development of autoimmunity. Meanwhile, we provide in-depth discussion of the molecular signals responsible for the effect of dsDNA to induce MHC molecules, based on the current opinion of dsDNA-mediated signal pathways.