BENEFICIAL-EFFECTS OF BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION ON THE SEROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND KIDNEY PATHOLOGY OF EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

We have recently shown, using allogeneic bone marrow transplantation ( BMT), that susceptibility of mice to the induction of experimental sys temic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is determined by bone marrow (BM)-deri ved cells. In the present study we investigated the ability of BMT to cure mice already afflicted with this disease. We found that transplan tation of SLE-diseased mice, with T-cell-depleted BM cells either from an SLE-resistant or from an SLE-susceptible donor, caused a significa nt reduction in the levels of anti-16/6 Id, 16/6 Id(+), anti-ssDNA, an d anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, compared to untreated SLE-afflicted mice. Interestingly, the reduction caused by the BMT of SLE-susceptible don or cells in the levels of the two former antibodies was significantly milder than the reduction caused by BMT of SLE-resistant cells. In con trast, the reduction in the levels of anti-ssDNA and anti-dsDNA antibo dies, following BMT of cells from SLE-susceptible donors, did not diff er from that caused by transplantation of BM cells from SLE-resistant donors. Following the transplantation of SLE-resistant but not of SLE- susceptible BM cells, a significant reduction was observed in the freq uency of mice suffering from SLE-related immune complex deposits in th eir kidneys. If performed at advanced stages of the disease, transplan tation of SLE-resistant BM cells into experimental SLE-diseased mice s till led to a reduction in the levels of SLE-related autoantibodies, a lthough to a lesser extent, but failed in improving kidney pathology. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that bone marrow transplantation h as a beneficial effect on mice afflicted with experimental SLE. (C) 19 95 Academic Press,Inc.