title: The potential protective role of hepatitis B virus infection in pristane-induced lupus in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate whether hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection plays a role in the regulation of autoimmunity for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 21 female BALB/c mice and 21 female HBV transgenic BALB/c mice aged two months were randomly divided into four groups: BALB/c mice, HBV(Tg) mice, pristane-injected BALB/c mice, and pristane-injected HBV(Tg) mice. BALB/c mice and HBV(Tg) mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml normal saline, and the mice in the other two groups were given an intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml pristane. ANA and anti-dsDNA levels in serum were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. Interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α were measured by Luminex technology. The serum BAFF level was measured using an Elisa kit. Twenty-four weeks after pristane administration, kidneys were removed, dissected, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and periodic-acid Schiff.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At six months after injecting, the ANA titers in pristane-injected HBV(Tg) mice were significantly lower than pristane-injected BALB/c mice. IL-17, TNF-α, and BAFF levels were significantly higher in pristane-injected BALB/c mice than BALB/c mice and pristane-injected HBV(Tg) mice. IL-2, IL-4, and IL-6 levels were much higher in pristane-injected HBV(Tg) mice than pristane-injected BALB/c mice. In pristane-injected HBV(Tg) mice and HBV(Tg) mice, fewer glomerulonephritis changes were found in the kidneys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results showed that the incidence of SLE was much lower in HBV(Tg) mice, and that HBV infection helped the SLE mice survive high levels of inflammatory cytokines and severe renal damage. All these findings demonstrated the protective role of HBV in SLE patients via the immunoregulatory networks of the cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Center of Laboratory Medicine, Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, PR China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Immune Cell Research Laboratory, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, PR China yrzhao@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D018925:Chemokines / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology; D015994:Incidence; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011897:Random Allocation; D013729:Terpenes
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001323:Autoantibodies; D018925:Chemokines; D013729:Terpenes; C009042:pristane
keywords: HBV transgenic mice; Systemic lupus erythematosus; cytokines; hepatitis B virus