Expression of interleukin-17 in autoimmune dacryoadenitis in MRL/lpr mice.
OBJECTIVE
Th-cytokines play important roles in dacryoadenitis associated with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). The aims of this study were to (i) investigate whether interleukin (IL)-17, a newly identified Th-cytokine, participates in autoimmune dacryoadenitis of MRL/lpr mice and (ii) examine the relationships among IL-17, IL-4, and interferon (IFN)-γ in these mice.


METHODS
Three-month-old MRL/lpr mice with lacrimal gland inflammation and 3-month-old control BALB/c mice were used. Frozen sections of lacrimal glands and submandibular lymph nodes were stained with monoclonal antibodies to cytokines IL-17, IL-4, and IFN-γ. Concentrations of IL-17 in serum and 48-h splenocyte culture supernatants were detected by ELISA.


RESULTS
Marked lacrimal gland inflammation was observed in all MRL/lpr mice but not in any BALB/c control mice. In the lacrimal glands of MRL/lpr mice, the proportions of cells that stained were 5 ± 3% for IL-17, 32 ± 14% for IL-4, and 4 ± 2% for IFN-γ. In the submandibular lymph nodes of MRL/lpr mice, expression of IL-17 and IL-4 was significantly higher than that of IFN-γ, and all three cytokines were significantly higher in MRL/lpr mice than in BALB/c mice. Concentrations of IL-17 in both serum and splenocyte culture supernatants of MRL/lpr mice were elevated compared to BALB/c controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Since expression of IL-17 is elevated in 3-month-old MRL/lpr mice, we suggest that it plays a role in the pathophysiology of autoimmune dacryoadenitis in these mice.
Jie
Guo
G
Department of Ophthalmology, Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University, No. 83 FenYang Road, Shanghai, China.
Jiang
Qian
Q
Rui
Zhang
Z
Yifei
Yuan
Y
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003607:Dacryocystitis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D007765:Lacrimal Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D019463:Mice, Inbred MRL lpr; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000378:metabolism
D020381:Interleukin-17; D007371:Interferon-gamma