Prevention of mercuric chloride-induced nephritis in the brown Norway rat by treatment with antibodies against the alpha 4 integrin

HgCl2 induces the synthesis of anti-GBM Abs with the development of glomerular and interstitial nephritis, as well as proteinuria, in the Brown Norway rat. The development of this autoimmune disease is a consequence of the appearance of an autoreactive T cell subset-inducing activation of B cells. The administration to mercury-treated rats of the mouse anti-human VLA alpha 4 HP2/1 mAb, which cross-reacts with the rat homologue integrin, completely abrogated the interstitial cell infiltrates. As demonstrated by peripheral blood analysis, this effect is not a result of the depletion of circulating leukocytes or leukocyte subsets. Interestingly, the administration of Abs specific for the alpha 4 integrin also highly reduced anti-GBM Ab synthesis, thus preventing detectable glomerular deposits and proteinuria. Our results confirm that in vivo alpha 4 functions in adhesive interaction of circulating leukocytes and vascular endothelium, and is centrally important in the extravasation and migration of T lymphocytes to sites of tissue injury. We also found a complete absence of interstitial cell infiltrates, together with a positive glomerular IgG lineal deposition pattern, when anti-GBM Abs were passively transferred to rats pretreated with anti-alpha 4 mAb, thus indicating an independent role of alpha 4 integrin in both extravasation of immune cells and production of autoantibodies. Furthermore, these in vivo findings provide preliminary evidence for the participation of the VLA-4 integrin in mediating the intercellular interaction of leukocytes regulating the production of Abs, most likely through the existence of additional yet unknown ligand(s).