Studies of lymphoproliferation in MRL-lpr/lpr mice

MRL-lpr/lpr mice develop massive lymphoproliferation and an associated autoimmune process that includes anti-DNA formation, vasculitis, and glomerulonephritis. We have investigated the lymphoproliferation of MRL-lpr/lpr mice and have found that multiple factors are operative. Although neonatal thymectomy markedly retards the syndrome, chronic injection of poly rI.rC could substitute for the thymus. The resulting cells had the phenotype characteristic of the abnormal MRL-lpr/lpr T cells, Thy-1+, dull Ly-1+, Lyt-2-, 6B2+, Ig-. Splenectomy at 2 wk of age markedly retarded the development of this syndrome; however, splenectomy at birth did not. Some protection was afforded by splenectomy at 5 wk. Thus, there appears to be a critical period in the life of an MRL-lpr/lpr mouse when the spleen contributes importantly to the lymphoproliferation. A most remarkable observation was that an MRL-lpr/lpr spleen graft under the kidney capsule could induce lymphadenopathy characteristic of lpr/lpr mice in MRL +/+ recipients. Cells within the graft had to be able to proliferate for the adenopathy to occur because irradiation of the spleen with 800 R just before grafting abrogated the lymphadenopathy-inducing potential. No adenopathy was induced by +/+ spleen grafts placed into +/+ mice. Although MRL-lpr/lpr males develop disease slightly more slowly than female littermates, the differences are small. Manipulations that retard disease, such as splenectomy at 2 wk or neonatal thymectomy, magnified the sex differences. Male MRL-lpr/lpr mice that were thymectomized and splenectomized and given polyclonal immune activators failed to develop either anti-DNA or lymphadenopathy, whereas their female littermates expressed both abnormalities. We conclude from these studies that multiple factors serve to modulate the magnitude of the lymphoproliferation and autoimmune syndrome of MRL-lpr/lpr mice.