Glomerulonephritis in NZB/W mice: therapeutic effect of cyclosporine

Female NZB/W hybrid mice spontaneously develop autoimmune glomerulonephritis (GN) at the age of 3 to 6 months. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of cyclosporine (CS) on proteinuria and GN in mice at various stages of the disease, e.g., 12, 24 and 48 weeks of age. A 12 week course of CS (100 mg/kg/day) either abolished or prevented the development of proteinuria depending on the disease stage. Histologically, CS prevented the further development or even reversed GN. Immunoglobulin (Ig) and complement (C') deposition in the glomeruli were also reduced in CS-treated mice. These results indicate that CS has a therapeutic effect in murine autoimmune GN.