Effects and mechanism of prednisone and TACI-Ig combination on auto-antibody production in MRL/lpr mice / 安徽医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects and partial mechanism of prednisone and TACI-Ig combination on MRL/Mpslac-lpr ( MRL/lpr) mice. Methods MRL/lpr mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, which includ-ed model group, prednisone (2. 5, 5. 0 mg/kg) group, TACI-Ig (15. 0 mg/kg) group, prednisone and TACI-Ig combination [(2. 5+7. 5) mg/kg, (2. 5+15. 0) mg/kg] group. BALB/c mice were set as normal group. Pred-nisone was given intragastrically everyday and TACI-Ig was given subcutaneously every two days for 13 weeks. In the meantime, the normal and model group were treated with an equal volume of normal saline. The general sign and proteinuria level were observed in the treatment period. The sections of spleen and kidney tissues for pathologi-cal analysis were stained with HE. Serum levels of auto-antibodies and BAFF were detected by ELISA kit. The per-centage of plasma cells and CD138 expression in the spleen were detected by flow cytometry analysis and immuno-histochemistry, respectively. Results The skin damage and the proteinuria level were improved and decreased by prednisone and TACI-Ig combination treatment. The spleen and kidney pathology were also improved including re-ducing germinal center formation and alleviating the glomerular fibrosis, mesangial cell hyperplasia and inflammato-ry cell infiltration, respectively. What was more, the percentage of splenic plasma cells ( CD19 -CD138 +) was re-duced significantly, which maybe resulted in the decrease in ANA. However the high level of anti-dsDNA antibody was not influenced by the combination treatment. The serum level of BAFF was also reduced by the combination treatment. Conclusion Prednisone and TACI-Ig combination treatment has a beneficial effect on murine SLE, which may be associated with the inhibition of plasma cell differentiation and the secretion of auto-antibody.