Interleukin 6 (IL-6) deficiency delays lupus nephritis in MRL-Faslpr mice: the IL-6 pathway as a new therapeutic target in treatment of autoimmune kidney disease in systemic lupus erythematosus.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathophysiological effect of interleukin 6 (IL-6) on lupus nephritis in MRL-Fas(lpr) mice. METHODS: We generated IL-6-deficient MRL-Fas(lpr) mice using a backcross/intercross breeding scheme. Renal pathology was evaluated using immunohistochemistry detection for macrophages, lymphocytes, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling) for apoptotic cells, and renal IgG and C3 deposition by immunofluorescence staining. Expression of inflammatory markers in the spleen was analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Serum cytokine concentrations were detected by FACS analysis. RESULTS: IL-6 deficiency was highly effective in prolonging survival and ameliorating the clinical, immunological, and histological indicators of murine systemic lupus erythematosus. During the study period of 6 months, MRL-Fas(lpr) IL-6 -/- mice showed delayed onset of proteinuria and hematuria compared to IL-6-intact control mice. Survival rate was 100% in IL-6-deficient MRL-Fas(lpr) mice and 25% in the control group at 6 months of age. The absence of IL-6 resulted in significant reduction of infiltrating macrophages in the kidney (p < 0.05), a decrease in renal IgG and C3 deposition, and a reduction of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. The parenchymal adhesion molecule VCAM-1 was found to be downregulated in kidneys of MRL-Fas(lpr) IL-6 -/- compared to IL-6-intact mice. We found elevated serum levels of IL-10 and interferon-gamma in IL-6-deficient mice, while splenic mRNA showed an overall downregulation of immunoregulatory genes. CONCLUSION: IL-6 is a strong promoter of lupus nephritis and may be a promising new therapeutic target in the treatment of human lupus nephritis.[1]References
- Interleukin 6 (IL-6) deficiency delays lupus nephritis in MRL-Faslpr mice: the IL-6 pathway as a new therapeutic target in treatment of autoimmune kidney disease in systemic lupus erythematosus. Cash, H., Relle, M., Menke, J., Brochhausen, C., Jones, S.A., Topley, N., Galle, P.R., Schwarting, A. J. Rheumatol. (2010) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
