INCREASED LEVELS OF ANTIBODIES TO HEAT-SHOCK PROTEINS WITH INCREASINGAGE IN MRL MP-LPR LPR MICE

Approximately 30% of human patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) develop IgG autoantibodies to the highly conserved 90 kDa heat s hock protein (hsp90). The development of anti-hsp90 antibodies is show n here to be paralleled in the Mr1/lpr mouse, which is an acknowledged moder for SLE, but not in control BALB/c mice (P = 0.005). The genera tion of these antibodies appears to be closely linked to the onset of disease and titres of these antibodies increase with age, but there is no correlation with well-established clinical parameters of disease. Antibodies to hsp70 and hsp65 are also observed in the Mr1/lpr model; these antibodies appear to be unrelated to the pathogenesis of the dis ease.