Cellular mRNA expression of interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ), IL‐4 and IL‐10 relates to resistance to experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) in young Lewis rats

Age‐related alterations in the immune system, including changes in lymphocyte subset composition, result in changes of cytokine patterns and might thereby influence the incidence and severity of autoimmune diseases. To investigate the age‐related resistance to EAMG, an animal model for human MG, you...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical and experimental immunology 1997-06, Vol.108 (3), p.523-528
Main Authors: SHI, F.‐D., ZHANG, G.‐X., BAI, X.‐F., VAN DER MEIDE, P.‐H., LINK, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Animals
autoimmunity
B cells
B-Lymphocytes - immunology
Biological and medical sciences
cytokines
Diseases of striated muscles. Neuromuscular diseases
Female
Interferon-gamma - genetics
Interleukin-10 - genetics
Interleukin-4 - genetics
Lymphocyte Activation
Medical sciences
myasthenia gravis
Myasthenia Gravis - immunology
Neurology
Original
Rats
Rats, Inbred Lew
Receptors, Cholinergic - analysis
RNA, Messenger - analysis
T cells
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Age‐related alterations in the immune system, including changes in lymphocyte subset composition, result in changes of cytokine patterns and might thereby influence the incidence and severity of autoimmune diseases. To investigate the age‐related resistance to EAMG, an animal model for human MG, young (4‐week‐old) and adult (8–10‐week‐old) female Lewis rats were immunized with Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). Adult Lewis rats showed severe weight loss and progressive muscular weakness after immunization, while young rats developed minor clinical signs of EAMG after a prolonged interval post‐immunization. By comparison with adult rats, the young had lower AChR‐specific T and B cells responses, and less muscle AChR loss. In situ hybridization performed on mononuclear cells (MNC) from lymph nodes revealed that young rats had lower levels of AChR‐specific IFN‐γ, IL‐4 and IL‐10 mRNA‐expressing cells compared with adult rats. Since IFN‐γ, IL‐4 and IL‐10 promote the development of EAMG, the low expression of these cytokines might contribute to EAMG resistance in young Lewis rats.
ISSN:0009-9104
1365-2249
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2249.1997.3881284.x