1. The postnatal maternal environment affects autoimmune disease susceptibility in A/J mice.
- Author
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Case LK, Del Rio R, Bonney EA, Zachary JF, Blankenhorn EP, Tung KS, and Teuscher C
- Subjects
- Animals, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes cytology, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes immunology, Chemokine CXCL1 metabolism, Cytokines metabolism, Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental immunology, Female, Immunity, Maternally-Acquired immunology, Interleukin-13 metabolism, Interleukin-9 metabolism, Lactation immunology, Lactation metabolism, Lymph Nodes cytology, Lymph Nodes immunology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Inbred Strains, Ovarian Diseases immunology, Thymectomy, Animals, Newborn immunology, Animals, Suckling immunology, Autoimmune Diseases immunology, Disease Susceptibility immunology
- Abstract
The postnatal maternal environment is known to increase susceptibility to a number of autoimmune diseases. Here we asked whether the postnatal maternal environment could influence autoimmune disease development to day 3 thymectomy (d3tx)-induced autoimmune ovarian disease (AOD) and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in cross-fostered A/J and B6 mice. A/J pups foster-nursed by B6 mothers exhibit an increase in autoimmune disease development while cross-fostering B6 pups on A/J mothers did not alter their susceptibility. The increase in AOD incidence seen in foster-nursed d3tx A/J mice correlated with a decrease in the total number of CD4(+) T cells in the lymph nodes of these animals. Analysis of the cellular composition in the milk revealed that B6 mice shed significantly more maternally derived lymphocytes into their milk compared to A/J mothers. These data suggest that there are maternally derived postnatal factors that influence the development of autoimmune disease in A/J mice.
- Published
- 2010
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