RESEARCH - Chimerism occurs twice as often in lupus nephritis as in normal kidneys

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Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Sep;54(9):2944-50.

Chimerism occurs twice as often in lupus nephritis as in normal kidneys.

Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an immune-mediated disease

that particularly affects the kidneys, causing lupus nephritis. In

experimental mouse models, lupus nephritis can be mimicked by inducing a

chimeric state through the injection of parental T cells in offspring. In

humans, pregnancy-induced chimerism may play a role in the pathogenesis of

autoimmune diseases such as SLE, but it is likely that only certain chimeric

cells have pathogenic potential. In this study, we investigated whether the

distribution of chimeric cells is different in the kidneys of women with SLE

from that in normal kidneys, and we examined the phenotype of chimeric cells

in women with SLE. METHODS: The presence of chimeric cells was investigated

by in situ hybridization targeting the Y chromosome in 57 renal biopsy

samples from 49 women with lupus nephritis. Fifty-one kidney autopsy

specimens without histomorphologic lesions served as controls.

Double-staining for the Y chromosome in combination with CD3 and CD34

markers was performed in 5 kidney specimens with lupus nephritis to identify

the phenotype of the chimeric cells. RESULTS: Y chromosome-positive cells

were found in 27 of 49 patients with lupus nephritis and in 13 of 51 normal

controls (P < 0.01). Both CD3+ and CD34+ chimeric cells were identified in

lupus nephritis kidney specimens.

CONCLUSION: Chimeric cells are present significantly more often in kidneys

with lupus nephritis than in normal kidneys, and some of these chimeric

cells are T cells. This finding is interesting in light of experimental

models demonstrating that lupus nephritis is initiated by chimeric T cells.

PMID: 16948133

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed & cmd=Retrieve & dopt=Abstra\

ctPlus & list_uids=16948133

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