Immunome Research
Open Access

Abstract

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: How Chemically Inert Hydrocarbon Oils Induce Autoimmunity

Sebastian Boeltz, Deborah Kienhoefer and Markus H Hoffmann

Hydrocarbon oils such as pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane, TMPD) or hexadecane induce arthritis and lupus in rodents sharing clinical and pathological features with the human diseases rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, respectively. In pristane-induced lupus in the mouse induction of apoptosis and augmentation of type I Interferon signalling by pristane are supposed to contribute to pathology. Pristane also induces various forms of cell death in rat and human cells and leads to release of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-1β by both inflammasome-dependent and -independent mechanisms. How exposure to chemically inert oils translates into the establishment of a vicious cycle of autoimmunity is the case of this review.