Spatial and motor abilities during the course of autoimmune disease in (NZW x BXSB)F1 lupus-prone mice

In the systemic autoimmune/inflammatory lupus erythematosus disease, the involvement of the central nervous system is well recognized and frequently includes deficits in neurological function, cognition, and affect. The (NZW x BXSB)F1 lupus-prone mice are model of this pathology, in which a gene located on the Y chromosome provokes a sex specific morbidity in males. The present study examines whether autoimmune (NZW x BXSB)F1 mice develop impairments in learning and memory that correlate with severity of lupus-like disease. For this purpose, spatial and motor abilities were evaluated in 6- and 20-week-old male and female mice, and the immune status of these behaviorally tested mice was assessed by the presence of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAbs) in the serum. The results showed that none of the animals had motor skill and motor learning disabilities, but that the older males were greatly impaired in their spatial abilities while the young ones and the females, whatever their age, were not. Besides, the ANAbs levels were similar and low in the young males, the young females and the old females, and very much higher in the old males, showing that spatial alterations were correlated to the anti-nuclear antibodies level.