Experimental glomerulonephritis is attenuated by CD8+ T cell chimerism and prevented by Mls-1-incompatible thymocytes.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in mice is a model resembling glomerulonephritis in human systemic lupus erythematosus. In the present study congenic mouse strains were used to investigate the pathogenetic role of (1) donor T cell subset chimerism and (2) donor thymocytes in this model. In GvHD employing minor lymphocyte-stimulating-1 (Mls-1)-compatible donors and recipients, full-blown immune complex glomerulonephritis was associated with a low-donor CD8(+) T cell chimerism. Injection of lymphocytes from Mls-1-negative donors (Mls-1(b)) into Mls-1-positive recipients (Mls-1(a)) induces a type of GvHD characterized by rapid self-limitation accompanied by the immediate inhibition of donor T cell chimerism and the absence of glomerulonephritis. However, omission of thymocytes from the donor inoculate does result in glomerular depositions containing immunoglobulins. These results suggest that donor CD8(+) T cell chimerism is associated with attenuation of immune complex glomerulonephritis, whereas Mls-1-incompatible donor T cell precursors prevent the disease.