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From the * Department of Medical Chemistry, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Sakyo-ku
Yoshida, Kyoto 606, Japan; In anti-red blood cell autoantibody transgenic (autoAb Tg) mice almost all B cells are deleted
except for B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity and the gut. About one-half of the auto Ab Tg mice suffer from autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in the conventional condition. Oral
administration of lipopolysaccharides activates B-1 cells and induces autoimmune symptoms in
the Tg mice, suggesting that the autoimmune disease in anti-RBC autoAb Tg mice is triggered by infections. To examine the association of bacterial infections with the generation of B-1
cells and the occurrence of the autoimmune disease, we analyzed anti-RBC autoAb Tg mice
bred in germ-free and specific pathogen-free conditions. In germ-free conditions, few peritoneal B-1 cells were detected, while a significant number of peritoneal B-1 cells existed in specific pathogen-free conditions. In both conditions, no mice suffered from AIHA. However,
when these Tg mice were transferred to the conventional condition or injected with lipopolysaccharide, peritoneal B-1 cells expanded and some of these mice suffered from AIHA.
These results clearly showed that bacterial infections are responsible for both the expansion of
B-1 cells and the onset of the autoimmune disease in these Tg mice.
Institute of Laboratory Animals, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine,
Sakyo-ku Yoshida, Kyoto 606, Japan
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