PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jonatan Luciano-Jaramillo
AU  - Flavio Sandoval-García
AU  - Mónica Vázquez-Del Mercado
AU  - Yanet Karina Gutiérrez-Mercado
AU  - Rosa Elena Navarro-Hernández
AU  - Erika Aurora Martínez-García
AU  - Oscar Pizano-Martínez
AU  - Fernanda Isadora Corona-Meraz
AU  - Jacinto Bañuelos-Pineda
AU  - Jorge Floresvillar-Mosqueda
AU  - Beatriz Teresita Martín-Márquez
TI  - Downregulation of hippocampal <em>NR2A/2B</em> subunits related to cognitive impairment in a pristane-induced lupus <em>BALB/c</em> mice
AID  - 10.1101/631879
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 631879
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/05/08/631879.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/05/08/631879.full
AB  - Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is a severe complication associated with the neurotoxic effects of circulating autoantibodies in the central nervous system (CNS) manifested frequently as a learning and memory deficit. Pristane-induced lupus in BALB/c female mice is an experimental model that resembles some clinical and immunological SLE pathogenesis associated with environmental factors. Nevertheless, there is no experimental evidence that relate pristane-induced lupus with cognitive dysfunction associated with autoantibodies production.Objective To evaluate cognitive impairment related to memory deficits in a pristane-induced lupus BALB/c female mice related to mRNA expression levels of NR2A/2B hippocampal subunits in short and long-term memory task at 7 and 12 weeks after LPS exposition (7wLPS and 12wLPS) in a behavioral test with the employment of Barnes maze.Methods Fifty-four female BALB/c mice of 8-12 weeks old were included in 2 experimental groups: 7 and 12 weeks after lypopolissacharide (LPS) exposure and classified in subgroups (control, pristane and pristane+LPS). To determine cognitive dysfunction, mice were tested in a Barnes maze. Serum anti-Sm antibodies and relative expression of hippocampal NR2A/NR2B subunits were quantified.Results Pristane and pristane+LPS mice showed a prolonged escape latency at 7wLPS than at 12wLPS in short-term memory. Downregulation of hippocampal NR2A subunit was more evident than NR2B in pristane and pristane+LPS at 7wLPS and 12wLPS. The anti-Sm autoantibodies levels correlate with the relative expression of NR2A.Conclusion Downregulation of hippocampal NR2A/2B subunits in the pristane-model of lupus in BALB/c mice may be related to anti-Sm autoantibodies production with the consequence of cognitive impairment in early stages of autoimmune disease.