An essential protective role of IL-10 in the immunological mechanism underlying resistance vs. susceptibility to lupus induction by dendritic cells and dying cells.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To define the role of IL-10 in lupus pathogenesis, and to understand the immunological mechanisms underlying resistance vs susceptibility to lupus disease induction by dendritic cells (DCs) and dying cells. METHODS: Groups of IL-10-deficient and normal C57BL/6 mice were injected with syngenic DCs that had ingested necrotic cells prepared by either freeze-thaw cycle (DC/nec(F/T)) or heat shock (DC/nec(H/S)) procedures, or with DC or necrotic cells alone, or with PBS only. Disease development, including proteinuria and renal pathological changes, was monitored. Levels of autoantibodies against different lupus-associated nuclear antigens were measured by ELISAs, and IC deposition in the kidneys was confirmed by immunostaining. RESULTS: No significant proteinuria was detected in the mice. However, striking renal pathological changes typical of IC-mediated GN were consistently observed in the DC/nec(F/T)-treated IL-10(-/-) mice. These included glomerular hypercellularity and macrophage infiltration, renal IC deposition, circulating kidney-reactive autoantibodies and the presence of immunoglobulin G2 isotype-specific antibody complexes in the diseased kidneys. We demonstrated further that host-derived IL-10 was primarily responsible for protecting against the induction of pathogenic Th1 type of autoantibody responses in the mice. CONCLUSION: IL-10 protects against the induction of lupus-like renal end-organ damage by down-regulating pathogenic Th1 responses.