Oxidative stress and immune complexes: Pathogenic mechanisms in pristane induced murine model of lupus
Authors: Archana Bhatnagar
Naveet Pannu
Journal: Immunobiology (2020)
Discipline: IMMUNOLOGY
Keywords: Anti-nuclear antibodies; Histopathological alterations; Immune complexes; Inflammation; Kidney function
Affiliations: Department of Biochemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  Systemic lupus erythematosus is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations. Mouse models play an indispensible role in understanding the disease pathology and for developing new therapeutics. This study investigated the effect of pristane administration on female BALB/c mice. The various manifestations of lupus replicated in this mouse model were analysed and their relevance to human disease was assessed. Pristane injection replicates the two prime manifestations of lupus i.e. oxidative stress and inflammation. An increase in oxidative stress was determined by the decreasing anti-oxidants, increasing ROS and lipid peroxidation. Inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) also increased in the plasma. The deteriorating organ functions after pristane administration were evident histopathologically. An increase in inflammatory cells, necrosis, oil vacuoles and pigment cells were marked in kidney, liver, lungs and spleen, whereas skin did not manifest any alteration. Liver function (bilirubin, SGPT) and kidney function (creatinine and proteinuria) tests were also altered. Pristane injection caused the generation of anti-nuclear antibodies, which were apparent from the different immunofluorescence patterns observed. Immune deposits were evident in all the vital organs stating the similarity this model holds with lupus patients. Replicating various manifestations of human lupus disorder, pristane induced mouse model of lupus serves as an appropriate model to study lupus complications and in the development of novel therapeutics for disease management. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 The authors focus on showing the interest of chloroquine against SARS Cov-2. The main argument relies on in vitro results previously reported on Chloroquine . We have to notice that this report is a letter to the editor showing unanswered PubPeer concerns about the figures it displays, and that might call into question the veracity of this letter. Furthermore, the required caution when extrapolating from in vitro results to in vivo does not seem to be taken into account here, as explained here https: en.wikipedia.org wiki In_vitro#Disadvantages Then, they seem to deduce from this results that hydroxychloroquine might also be a candidate for treatment of Covid-19, without giving any argument that would allow switching from one molecule to another the way they do. This assertion only relies on the safety profile and low cost of hydroxychloroquine, which can not be seen as evidences of this drug showing interest in this case. They assert if would be promptly tested by other teams and draw conclusions on the fact that it u201cwill have become one of the simplest and cheapest to treat and prevent among infectious respiratory diseasesu201d with only references to in vitro studies on MERS, SARS, SARS-2, which can not be seen as fully representative of respiratory diseases, whose most wider variety is shown here https: dx.doi.org 10.1016%2FB978-0-323-03453-1.10057-4. This assertion would also require in vivo studies to be fully reliable. The authorsu2019 conclusion being conditioned to further studies, no conclusion can be drawn from it. This putative conclusion can therefore not lead to any valuable information on treatment of Sarv-Cov-2. ,