aurotioprol and Glomerulonephritis--Membranous

Rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with gold salts occasionally develop a glomerulonephritis and an increase in serum IgE concentration. Brown-Norway (BN) rats injected with aurothiopropanolsulphonate (ATPS) exhibit an increase in serum IgE concentration, produce antilaminin antibodies (Abs) and develop glomerular linear immunoglobulin (Ig) deposits, occasionally a membranous glomerulopathy and vascular granular Ig deposits. Lewis (LEW) rats are resistant.. The genetic requirements governing the appearance of these manifestations were studied in congenic rats, and in F1 hybrids injected with ATPS.. Non-MHC-linked genes from the BN strain were absolutely required for all the traits to be observed. The RT1n (BN) or RT1(1) (LEW) haplotypes at the MHC were permissive for all the manifestations to appear and two RT1(1) alleles were associated with the highest response. However, granular Ig deposits were only observed in RT1n rats. The high serum IgE concentration and the antilaminin Ab level were associated with the presence of glomerular Ig deposits but were not associated with the presence of vascular Ig deposits.. This study shows that susceptibility to ATPS was mainly dependent upon non-MHC-linked BN genes and that the involvement of MHC-linked genes differed depending upon the character considered. There is an epistatic effect between the various genes.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Antirheumatic Agents; Dimercaprol; Female; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous; Immunoglobulin E; Male; Organogold Compounds; Organometallic Compounds; Phenotype; Propanols; Rats; Rats, Inbred BN; Rats, Inbred Lew; Sulfhydryl Compounds

The pathogenesis of gold-induced autoimmunity and membranous glomerulopathy is not well understood. HgCl2 and D-penicillamine, other chemicals known to trigger membranous glomerulopathy in humans, induce autoimmune manifestations in Brown-Norway (BN) rats but not in Lewis (LEW) rats. These chemicals trigger T-cell clones which are specific for self class II molecules from the major histocompatibility complex and are probably responsible for the polyclonal B-cell activation observed. The aim of this work was to test the effects of aurothiopropanolsulphonate (ATPS) in BN and LEW rats. In BN rats, ATPS induced a polyclonal B-cell activation marked by lymphoproliferation, hyperimmunoglobulinaemia affecting mainly IgE, and by the production of numerous autoantibodies. A glomerulonephritis occurred, initially due to anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody deposition, and later to the formation of granular deposits, occasionally resulting in a typical membranous glomerulopathy. Self class-II-specific T-cells were found that might be responsible for the polyclonal B-cell activation. Lewis rats were free of glomerulopathy but, like BN rats, exhibited an interstitial nephritis and some degree of polyclonal B-cell activation. These findings demonstrate that, depending on the strain, ATPS triggers different B-cell clones inducing different degrees of autoimmunity.

Topics: Animals; Autoantibodies; Autoimmune Diseases; Autoimmunity; Dimercaprol; Female; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous; Gold; Immunoglobulin E; Lymphocyte Activation; Male; Organogold Compounds; Organometallic Compounds; Propanols; Rats; Rats, Inbred BN; Rats, Inbred Lew; Sulfhydryl Compounds