Sjögren's syndrome in MRL/l and MRL/n mice.
Six autoimmune murine models (MRL/l, MRL/n, NZB, NZB/NZW, PN, C57BL/6J-lpr/lpr) were compared with normal control C57BL/6J and DBA/2 mice to determine if spontaneous autoimmune disease was associated with evidence of Sjögren's syndrome. Schirmer tests documented dry eyes in NZB/NZW and PN mice; other autoimmune strains and controls had normal tear formation. All autoimmune mice had conjunctivitis, but this abnormality was most severe in the PN strain. Ninety-eight percent of MRL/l and MRL/n mice had mononuclear cell infiltrates in lacrimal glands, and salivary glands were involved to a lesser degree. New Zealand mice and PN mice had smaller gland lesions. The extensive gland destruction in MRL/l and MRL/n mice suggested that these substrains merit further studies as animal models of Sjögren's syndrome.
D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007765:Lacrimal Apparatus / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008814:Mice, Inbred NZB; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000276:immunology*; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000473:pathology; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000473:pathology
D001323:Autoantibodies