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[Effects of dexamethasone on MRL/lpr mice with systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with cognitive dysfunction]
Yuanyuan Wang1, Jie Tang2, Lin Shen2
1Department of Histology and Embryology, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu Anhui 233030, China.
Objective:
To evaluate the effects of dexamethasone on systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with cognitive dysfunction. Methods: Ten wild type mice and 20 MRL/lpr mice were applied for the research. MRL/lpr mice were randomly assigned to a MRL/lpr group and a MRL/lpr + dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) group. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in serum and hippocampus were detected. The protein phosphorylation levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (P-PI3K), protein kinase B (P-Akt), NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (P-IκBa) and nuclear transcription factor kappa-B p65 (P-NF-κB p65) were detected by Western blot, the level of P-NF-κB p65 also was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Treatment with dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) alleviated the cognitive dysfunction and decreased the levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in serum and hippocampus, and reduced the levels of P-PI3K, P-Akt, P-IκBa and P-NF-κB p65 in hippocampus in MRL/lpr mice. Conclusion: Dexamethasone may play a protective role in the cognitive function by decreasing the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the hippocampus of MRL/lpr lupus mice.