Maintenance of autoantibody production in pristane-induced murine lupus

Pristane-treated mice chronically produce high levels of anti-ribonucleoprotein/Smith (anti-Sm/RNP) and other lupus autoantibodies. The present study addressed how these autoantibody levels are maintained over time. Lupus was induced in BALB/c mice using pristane. Naïve B cells, switched memory B cells, switched plasmablasts, and plasma cells were flow-sorted and total IgG and anti-U1A (RNP) autoantibodies were determined with ELISA. B cells with a switched "memory-like" (CD19(+)CD138(-)IgM(-)IgD(-)) (sMB) phenotype were increased in pristane-treated mice and expressed higher levels of Toll li... Mehr ...