OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immune mechanism of MRL/lpr mice with systemic lupus erythematosus at different months of age, and to provide a basis for the study of its pathogenesis.
Methods: In this study, 10 SPF-grade 3-month-old, 4-month-old, 5-month-old and 6-month-old MRL/lpr female mice, and 10 SPF 3-month-old wild-type C57 female mice were randomly selected to measure the viscera. The organ coefficient was calculated from the mass of the organ, and the serum anti-double-stranded DNA antibody (ds-DNA), spleen tissue interleukin IL-2, IL-4, IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor TNF-α were detected by ELISA, and flow cytometry was used. The content of CD3 cells and the ratio of CD4/CD8 cells in spleen lymphocytes were detected.
Results: Compared with 3-month-old wild-type C57 mice, the spleen coefficient, blood ds-DNA antibody concentration, IL-2 and TNF-α concentrations of 3-6 month-old MRL/lpr mice were significantly increased (P< There was no significant difference in the concentration of interleukin IL-4 (P> 0.05); compared with 3-month-old MRL/lpr mice, the blood IL-17 concentration of 5- and 6-month-old MRL/lpr mice was significantly lower (P > 0.05). < 0.05 or P < 0.01); the other indicators showed no significant differences among MRL/lpr mice at different months of age. Compared with 3-month-old C57 mice, 6-month-old MRL/lpr mice had significant spleen lymphocyte CD3 concentrations The ratios of CD3 and D4/CD8 in MRL/lpr mice decreased with increasing age (P<0.01), but the difference was not significant.
Conclusion: Under the experimental conditions, the changes of each index showed that the 3-month-old MRL/lpr mice with lupus erythematosus had immune damage, and the degree of damage showed a certain increasing trend with the increase of the age of the mice.