First Author | Phoon RK | Year | 2008 |
Journal | J Am Soc Nephrol | Volume | 19 |
Issue | 3 | Pages | 477-85 |
PubMed ID | 18235099 | Mgi Jnum | J:150169 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3849814 | Doi | 10.1681/ASN.2007030392 |
Citation | Phoon RK, et al. (2008) T-bet deficiency attenuates renal injury in experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis. J Am Soc Nephrol 19(3):477-85 |
abstractText | T-bet is a transcription factor that is essential for T helper (Th)1 lineage commitment and optimal IFN-gamma production by CD4(+) T cells. We examined the role of T-bet in the development of experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis, which is induced by Th1-predominant, delayed-type hypersensitivity-like responses directed against a nephritogenic antigen. Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) glomerulonephritis was induced in T-bet(-/-) and wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Compared with wild-type controls, renal injury was attenuated in T-bet(-/-) mice with glomerulonephritis, evidenced by less proteinuria, glomerular crescents, and tubulointerstitial inflammation. Accumulation of glomerular CD4(+) T cells and macrophages was decreased, and was associated with reduced intrarenal expression of the potent Th1 chemoattractants CCL5/RANTES and CXCL9/Mig. Supporting the pro-inflammatory nature of T-bet signaling, assessment of systemic immunity confirmed that T-bet(-/-) mice had a reduction in Th1 immunity. The kinetic profile of T-bet mRNA in wild-type mice supported the hypothesis that T-bet deficiency attenuates renal injury in part by shifting the Th1/Th2 balance away from a Th1 phenotype. Expression of renal and splenic IL-17A, characteristically expressed by the Th17 subset of effector T cells, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, was increased in T-bet(-/-) mice. We conclude that T-bet directs Th1 responses that induce renal injury in experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis. |