Neurotoxic autoantibodies mediate congenital cortical impairment of offspring in maternal lupus.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease mediated by autoantibodies and preferentially affecting women of childbearing age. Because the offspring of mothers with SLE show a high frequency of learning disorders, we hypothesized that maternally transferred autoantibodies that bind DNA and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) could have a pathogenic role during fetal brain development. Here we describe a maternal SLE mouse model wherein pregnant dams harbored DNA-specific, NMDAR-specific autoantibodies throughout gestation. High titers of these autoantibodies in maternal circulation led to histological abnormalities in fetal brain and subsequent cognitive impairments in adult offspring. These data support a paradigm in which in utero exposure to neurotoxic autoantibodies causes abnormal brain development with long-term consequences. This paradigm may apply to multiple congenital neuropsychiatric disorders.
Lee
Ji Y
JY
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Huerta
Patricio T
PT
Zhang
Jie
J
Kowal
Czeslawa
C
Bertini
Eva
E
Volpe
Bruce T
BT
Diamond
Betty
B
D000818:Animals; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009421:Nervous System Malformations / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001323:Autoantibodies; D003603:Cytotoxins; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate