title: Mercuric chloride-induced autoimmunity.
abstract: This unit describes methods for inducing autoimmune disease in Brown Norway rats through HgCl(2) injections as well for assessing parameters that characterize the disease by serum IgE concentration assays, anti-laminin antibody measurement, and renal immunofluorescence studies to detect autoantibodies. Also covered are disease induction using autoreactive CD4(+) T(H)2 anti-self MHC class II molecules and preparation of T cell lines. IL-4 is produced very early after the first HgCl(2) injection (beginning at day 3, peaking at day 14, and continuing up to day 30). Thus, IL-4 mRNA expression may be detected in spleen and lymph nodes from HgCl(2)-injected BN rats. The fact that HgCl(2) induces in vitro mRNA IL-4 gene expression in normal BN T cells but not in LEW T cells is probably crucial to susceptibility to the development of autoimmunity in the sense that it may condition the development of autoreactive T cells into pathogenic T(H)2 cells; a test for this condition is therefore also included.
authors.affiliation: Institut Fédératif de Recherche, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saoudi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Druet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Druet
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pelletier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008627:Mercuric Chloride; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015847:Interleukin-4; D008627:Mercuric Chloride