Aberrant activation of heat shock protein 60/65 reactive T cells in patients with Behcet's disease

Abstract

Behcet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease and is characterized by recurrent attacks on eyes, brain, skin, and gut. There is evidence that skewed T-cell responses contributed to its pathophysiology in patients with BD. We found that heat shock proteins (HSPs) reactive T cells were prevalent in patients with BD. Here, we summarize current findings on HSP reactive T cells and their contribution to the pathogenesis in patients with BD. © 2012 Jun Shimizu et al.