Prostaglandin E1 therapy of murine chronic serum sickness.

We studied the effect of PGE1 in pharmacologic doses on immune complex-induced glomerulonephritis produced by daily intraperitoneal injections of apoferritin. Mice received one of the following injection schedules: apoferritin 4 mg/day, apoferritin 4 mg/day plus PGE1 200 microgram twice daily, saline, or PGE1 200 microgram twice daily. Administration of apoferritin alone resulted in mesangial cell proliferation in all 14 mice with crescent formation in nine. Evidence of subepithelial and mesangial immune complex deposition and a significant increase in urine protein excretion was found. Treatment with PGE1 resulted in a mild increase in mesangial cells in six of 14 mice. No mice developed crescents on this regimen. In addition, proteinuria was prevented, and there was a marked diminution of immune complex deposition. Antiapoferritin antibody was detected in the sera of mice from both groups. No alteration in lymphocyte response to mitogen or in vitro PGE1 suppression of blastogenesis was detected. Our results indicate that PGE1 therapy alters immune complex glomerulonephritis in this model of murine chronic serum sickness by reducing glomerular immune complex deposition. However, no difference in specific or nonspecific immunologic responses was detected.