Autoimmune tubulointerstitial nephritis: insight from experimental models

Tridecylcyclohexane in incomplete Freund's adjuvant is a critical component in inducing experimental autoimmune diseases

Incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) has been used for many years to induce autoimmune diseases in animal models, including experimental autoimmune encephalitis and collagen-induced arthritis. However, it remains unclear why it is necessary to emulsify autoantigen and heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis (HKMtb) with IFA to induce experimental autoimmune diseases. Here, we found that immunization with self-antigen and HKMtb was insufficient to induce autoimmune diseases in mice. Furthermore, IFA or one of its components, mineral oil, but not mannide monooleate, was required for the development of experimental autoimmune disease. Immunization with autoantigen and HKMtb emulsified in mineral oil facilitated innate immune activation and promoted the differentiation of pathogenic CD4+ T cells, followed by their accumulation in neuronal tissues. Several water-soluble hydrocarbon compounds were identified in mineral oil. Of these, immunization with HKMtb and autoantigen emulsified with the same amount of hexadecane or tridecylcyclohexane as mineral oil induced the development of experimental autoimmune encephalitis. In contrast, immunization with HKMtb and autoantigen emulsified with tridecylcyclohexane, but not hexadecane, at doses equivalent to those found in mineral oil, resulted in neuronal dysfunction. These data indicate that tridecylcyclohexane in mineral oil is a critical component in the induction of experimental autoimmune disease.

SAMP1/Sku as a murine model for tubulointerstitial nephritis: a study using unilateral ureteral obstruction

The SAMP1/Sku mouse is a substrain of the SAMP1 (senescence-accelerated-mouse prone 1) which exhibits renal mononuclear cell infiltration from a younger age. We hypothesized that this renal characteristic is related to the incidence of tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of the SAMP1/Sku mouse as a murine model for TIN. TIN was experimentally induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). The SAMP1/Sku and control ICR of both sexes received either a sham or UUO operation and were sacrificed 7 days after the operation. The kidneys of the mice were observed histopathologically, immunohistochemically and semiquantitatively. UUO kidneys showed mononuclear cell infiltration, tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis. In males, semiquantitative scores of mononuclear cell infiltration, tubular atrophy, and F4/80, alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 reactions were significantly higher in SAMP1/Sku than in ICR. Likewise, in females, tubular atrophy and F4/80 reaction scores were significantly higher in SAMP1/Sku than in ICR. In conclusion, induction of TIN damage by UUO was more serious in SAMP1/Sku mice than in ICR. Therefore, we propose that SAMP1/Sku mice, especially male SAMP1/Sku, have congenital risk factors for the development of TIN.