Advances in studies on the pathogenesis and clinical therapy of cutaneous lupus

Cutaneous lupus (CLE) is a subtype of lupus mainly affected skin. It can be a disease solely involved in skin, or just cutaneous manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The pathogenesis of CLE is multi-factors, such as genetics, environment, infection, and drug and so on. Ultraviolet can induce keratinocyte apoptosis, and auto-antigen enrichment in the blood. T17 cells and Treg cells are increased in skin lesion of CLE patients which may destroy immune tolerance. Moreover, there are more Langerhans cells and less dendritic cells with type I IFN and TNF-α upregulation in epidermis of skin lesion. We summarize the role of genetic factor, ultraviolet, antibody, inflammatory cell and molecules in the pathogenesis of CLE. Key words: Cutaneous Lupus; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Autoantibody; Autoimmunity