RESUMO
Autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have high rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus is a prototypic autoimmune disorder that primarily affects women of childbearing age and is associated with a loss of self-tolerance, autoreactive B and T lymphocytes, and the production of autoantibodies, especially to nuclear components. In this study, we hypothesized that the pristane-inducible model of SLE would develop hypertension and vascular dysfunction as the disease progressed. To test this hypothesis, female C57BL/6 mice were administered PBS or pristane. Seven months after pristane administration, mice developed various autoantibodies, including anti-dsDNA IgG, anti-ssDNA IgG, and anti-nRNP IgG, as well as hypergammaglobulinemia. Several other immunological changes, including increased circulating neutrophils and increased CD4- CD8- (double negative) thymocytes were also detected. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was elevated in pristane-treated mice when compared to PBS-treated mice. In addition, second-order mesenteric arteries from pristine-treated mice had impaired relaxation to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine compared to PBS-treated mice. These data suggest that the immune system dysfunction present in the pristane model of lupus contributes to the development of hypertension and vascular dysfunction.