Time course of reactive oxygen intermediates release and histopathological findings during experimental autoimmune...

Spontaneous and stimulated reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) release by peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) and histopathological findings in the prostate gland were assessed during experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) development. Results in EAP rats were compared with data from rats immunized with kidney homogenate, BSA, and CFA, as well as nontreated rats. At 28 days of first immunization (FI), EAP rats spontaneously released significantly more ROI than occurred in the cells from control rats. A similar response was found when ROI release was analyzed after in vitro stimulus. In time course studies, an increased spontaneous O2- production was observed at day 7 after FI, and remained the same during all period studied, (14, 21, and 28 days after FI). The stimulated O2- production showed elevated levels at 7 days after FI and fell afterward to levels similar to those of nontreated rats and increased again at 28 days. Spontaneous or stimulated H2O2 release showed a progressive increase during the study periods. ROI release was correlated with infiltrate formation in the prostate gland. This differential responsiveness could indicate that, during the autoimmune process, the autoantigen(s) amplify the inflammatory response triggered by them.