[Effects of immunotherapy with anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody on autoimmune cardiomyopathy: experiment with mice].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of immunotherapy with anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody (McAb) on autoimmune cardiomyopathy.


METHODS
24 male Balb/c mice were immunized with mitochondria ADP/ATP carrier peptides so as to establish a model of autoimmune cardiomyopathy, and then randomly divided into 4 equal groups: cardiomyopathy control group, early-treated group injected with anti-L3T4 McAb on the day before immunization, the very day of immunization, and 1 day after the immunization, mid-term-treated group, administrated with anti-L3T4 McAb on the 89th, 90th and 91st days after immunization, and sham-immunization control group, injected with solution without anti-L3T4 McAb. Six months after blood samples were collected. The serum antibodies against ADP/ATP carrier were examined with ELISA, and the expression of IFN-gamma and IL-4, T cell cytokines, in T cells were detected by 3-color flow cytometry. The myocardium underwent pathological examination by using light and electron microscopes. The bulk percentages of cardiac collagen fiber were calculated with computer.


RESULTS
Antibodies against ADP/ATP carrier were negative in the early-treated group and the sham-immunization control group and positive in the mid-term-treated and cardiomyopathy groups with a transient decline in the mid-term-treated group. By the end of 6 month, there were no cardiac morphological and histopathological changes like those in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in the early-treated group and sham-immunization group, while they were found in the mid-term-treated and cardiomyopathy groups with severer myocardial impairments in the cardiomyopathy group. The percentage of IFN-gamma/IL-4 of the early-treated group was 6.56% +/- 0.21%/2.54% +/- 0.20%, not significantly different from that of the control group (5.87% +/- 0.19%/2.16% +/- 0.10%), however, the values of these 2 groups were significantly higher than those of the mid-term-treated group (8.91% +/- 0.33%/5.15% +/- 0.13%, both P < 0.01) and the cardiomyopathy group (7.85% +/- 1.42%/9.45% +/- 1.70%, both P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Anti-L3T4 McAb administration is effective on protection from autoimmune cardiomyopathy induced by mitochondria ADP/ATP carrier peptides, especially being used at the initial phase of this disease.
Yuan
Jing
J
Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
Liao
Yu-hua
YH
Wang
Zhao-hui
ZH
Cheng
Xiang
X
Zhang
Jing-hui
JH
Dong
Ji-hua
JH
Wang
Min
M
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011897:Random Allocation
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma