Deletion of IL-18 Expression Ameliorates Spontaneous Kidney Failure in MRLlpr Mice

Bastian Schirmer; Dirk Wedekind; Silke Glage; Detlef Neumann

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140173

Deletion of IL-18 Expression Ameliorates Spontaneous Kidney Failure in MRLlpr Mice

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 14;10(10):e0140173. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140173. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Bastian Schirmer¹, Dirk Wedekind², Silke Glage², Detlef Neumann¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Pharmacology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
² Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Abstract

The role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus is still not definitively solved. In this study, we generated MRLlpr mice, which develop a disease resembling systemic lupus erythematosus, genetically devoid of IL-18 expression. These mice in comparison to IL-18-competent MRLlpr mice show reduced signs of renal pathogenesis, while other parameters such as mean survival time, lymphadenopathy, constitutive interferon-γ production, and frequency of CD3+B220+ abnormal T cells were without differences. We conclude that in the systemic lupus erythematosus syndrom IL-18 is involved specifically in the renal pathogenesis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Gene Deletion
Gene Expression Regulation
Humans
Interleukin-18 / biosynthesis*
Interleukin-18 / genetics
Kidney / metabolism
Kidney / pathology*
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / genetics*
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / pathology
Lupus Nephritis / genetics
Lupus Nephritis / pathology
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Renal Insufficiency / genetics*
Renal Insufficiency / pathology

Substances

Interleukin-18

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Hannover Medical School by means of MHH-HiLF. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.