Murine models of lupus induced by hypomethylated T cells (DNA hypomethylation and lupus…)

Methods Mol Biol. 2012:900:169-80. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60761-720-4_8.

Abstract

CD4+ T cell DNA hypomethylation may contribute to the development of drug induced and idiopathic human lupus. Inhibiting DNA methylation in mature CD4+ T cells causes MHC-specific autoreactivity in vitro. The lupus-inducing drugs hydralazine and procainamide also inhibit T cell DNA methylation and induce autoreactivity, and T cells from patients with active lupus have hypomethylated DNA and a similarly autoreactive T cell subset. Further, T cells treated with DNA methylation inhibitors demethylate the same sequences that demethylate in T cells from patients with active lupus. The pathologic significance of the autoreactivity induced by inhibiting T cell DNA methylation has been tested by treating murine T cells in vitro with drugs which modify DNA methylation, then injecting the cells into syngeneic female mice. Mice receiving CD4+ T cells demethylated by a variety of agents including procainamide and hydralazine develop a lupus-like disease. Further, transgenic mice with an inducible T cell DNA methylation defect also develop lupus-like autoimmunity. This chapter describes the protocols for inducing autoreactivity in murine T cells in vitro and for inducing autoimmunity in vivo using an adoptive transfer approach or transgenic animal models.

MeSH terms

  • Adoptive Transfer / methods*
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Antinuclear / immunology
  • Azacitidine / pharmacology
  • DNA Methylation / genetics*
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Immunoglobulin M / immunology
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / genetics*
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / immunology*
  • Mice
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Antinuclear
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Azacitidine