EVALUATION OF MEMORY, LEARNING-ABILITY, AND CLINICAL NEUROLOGIC FUNCTION IN PATHOGEN-FREE MICE WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

Objective. To determine if neurologic impairment is related to progres sive autoimmune disease in 3 murine models of systemic lupus erythemat osus (SLE): MRL/lpr, NZB, and NZB/WF1. Methods. Sensorimotor function, learning, and memory were tested within strains at specific ages, bef ore and after the appearance of SLE. These parameters were also compar ed between strains for young and older lupus mice and their congenic c ontrols with reduced autoimmune disease (MRL/lpr versus MRL/+; NZB ver sus NZB/xid). Results. Abnormal neurologic features were present at a much higher frequency in MRL/lpr mice than in age-matched MRL/+ contro l mice, and sensorimotor function deficits were also seen in NZB/WF1 m ice. Strains that develop lupus showed deficits on a water-escape, dis tal cue discrimination task and on a food-rewarded, proximal cue discr imination task, but the cognitive impairments were not global. Conclus ion. MRL/lpr, NZB, and NZB/WF1 mice differed in terms of which behavio rs were impaired as well as when those impairments appeared.