Hallman Troy M, Peng Min, Meade Ray, Hancock Wayne W, Madaio Michael P, Gasser David L
University Laboratory Animal Resources, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
J Autoimmun. 2006 Feb;26(1):1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2005.10.006. Epub 2005 Dec 6.
Interstitial nephritis occurs spontaneously in kd/kd mice, but the mechanisms leading to this disease have not been fully elucidated. The earliest manifestation of a phenotype is the appearance of ultrastructural defects in the mitochondria of mice as young as 42 days of age. To examine the influence of the environment on the phenotype, homozygous B6.kd/kd mice were transferred from specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions to a germfree (GF) environment, and the development of the disease was observed. The GF state resulted in a highly significant reduction in the frequency of tubulointerstitial nephritis. In addition, GF conditions markedly reduced the appearance of the mitochondrial phenotype, with no sign of mitochondrial abnormalities in GF mice of up to 155 days of age. These results suggest that environmental factors are involved in the progression of all known manifestations of this disease phenotype.
间质性肾炎在kd/kd小鼠中自发发生，但导致这种疾病的机制尚未完全阐明。最早的表型表现是在年仅42天的小鼠线粒体中出现超微结构缺陷。为了研究环境对表型的影响，将纯合B6.kd/kd小鼠从无特定病原体（SPF）条件转移到无菌（GF）环境中，并观察疾病的发展情况。无菌状态导致肾小管间质性肾炎的发生率显著降低。此外，无菌条件显著减少了线粒体表型的出现，在长达155天的无菌小鼠中没有线粒体异常的迹象。这些结果表明，环境因素参与了这种疾病表型所有已知表现的进展。
