Clinical relevance of calreticulin in systemic lupus erythematosus

Calreticulin is an abundant intracellular protein which is proposed to have numerous biological functions. However, there is increasing evidence to suggest that calreticulin plays a multifunctional role as an autoantigen present in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. In this review we detail some of the recent evidence which indicate that calreticulin may play a supportive role in the formation of the autoantigen complex - Ro/SS-A. In addition, several proposed mechanisms of release and surface expression of calreticulin are described in relation to SLE mediated responses to the autoantigen. In particular, the generation of autoantibodies to specific regions of the protein and the ability of calreticulin to interfere with complement mediated inflammatory processes.