Immunological Mechanisms of Neuropsychiatric Lupus

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is a clinical syndrome characterized by various neurologic phenotypes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Mechanisms of NPSLE pathogenesis are not well understood although aberrant activation of both innate and adaptive immune pathways is thought to play a role. Animal models suggest a variety of factors that may instigate these neuropsychiatric events, including production of pathogenic autoantibodies, release of proinflammatory cytokines, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and dysregulation of innate immune responses.