title: Bee venom-associated Th1/Th2 immunoglobulin class switching results in immune tolerance of NZB/W F1 murine lupus nephritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bee venom (BV) therapy has been used to treat inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis in humans and in experimental animals. This study was conducted to examine the therapeutic effect of BV on established lupus nephritis in New Zealand Black/White (NZB/W) F1 female mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Beginning at 18 weeks of age, mice were given a subcutaneous injection of either BV (3 mg/kg BW) or an equal volume of saline once a week until the end of the study. To examine the effect of BV on CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, splenocytes from NZB/W mice (23 weeks of age) were treated with BV (1 μg/ml) or PBS in the presence of anti-CD3ε (1 μg/ml) and anti-CD28 antibodies (4 μg/ml) for 48 h.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BV administration delayed the development of proteinuria to a significant extent, prevented renal inflammation, reduced tubular damage, and reduced immune deposits in the glomeruli. Interestingly, CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells were significantly increased in vitro and in vivo after BV treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collectively, the administration of BV that has immune modulating effects represents an applicable treatment of lupus nephritis in NZB/W F1 mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. hbae @ khu.ac.kr
authors.forename: Hyojung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eui-Joon
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyunseong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gihyun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun-Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Um
authors.forename: Youngchul
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Boo-Yong
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyunsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bae
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001514:Bee Venoms; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D007107:Immune System; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D017578:Immunoglobulin Class Switching; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000235:genetics*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001514:Bee Venoms; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha