Treatment with anti-interleukin 23 antibody ameliorates disease in lupus-prone mice

Interleukin 23 receptor expressing IL-17 producing T cells have been shown to be important in the development of murine lupus. The usefulness of IL-23 inhibition in ameliorating lupus nephritis is unknown. We hypothesized that inhibition of IL-23 will ameliorate nephritis in lupus-prone mice. To this end, we treated MRL/lpr lupus-prone mice for 6 weeks with a rat anti-IL-23p19 antibody, which resulted in delaying the onset of nephritis without affecting the production of anti-dsDNA antibodies. The effect of the treatment was hampered by the production of murine anti-rat IgG antibodies. The amelioration of murine lupus by IL-23 inhibition strengthens the rationale for targeting IL-23 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.