Expressions of cytokine genes during development of autoimmune sialadenitis in MRL/lpr mice

• Published in: European journal of immunology Vol. 23; no. 10; p. 2387
• Main Authors: Hamano, H, Saito, I, Haneji, N, Mitsuhashi, Y, Miyasaka, N, Hayashi, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.10.1993
• Subjects: Animals; Autoimmune Diseases - genetics; Autoimmune Diseases - immunology; Base Sequence; Cytokines - genetics; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Primers - genetics; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Immunohistochemistry; Interleukin-1 - genetics; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Mutant Strains; Molecular Sequence Data; Salivary Glands - immunology; Sialadenitis - genetics; Sialadenitis - immunology; Sjogren's Syndrome - genetics; Sjogren's Syndrome - immunology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - genetics
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830231002

Local cytokine gene expression in vivo was analyzed by direct analysis of RNA obtained from salivary gland tissues of MRL/lpr mice with autoimmune sialadenitis. The expression of cytokine genes were assessed by the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and by immunohistochemical analysis. The expression of interleukin-1(IL-1)beta and tumor necrosis factor was detected before the onset of inflammatory lesions in the salivary glands of mice of 1 or 2 months of age, and IL-6 mRNA expression was clearly detected at the time of onset of typical autoimmune sialadenitis at 3 months of age in MRL/lpr mice, and was up-regulated with advancing age. These results suggest that the overexpression of these inflammatory cytokine genes is involved in the development and progression of organ-localized autoimmunity in the salivary glands of MRL/lpr mice.