Abstract
MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/l) mice which are lymphoproliferation (lpr) gene-congenic mice of MRL/Mp-+/+ (MRL/n) spontaneously develop glomerulonephritis, arteritis and arthritis characterized by the accumulation of macrophages. In this study we investigated the role of lpr gene expression on the functional activities of resident peritoneal macrophages of MRL strain of mice.
MRL/l mice showed remarkable increase of lysosomal enzyme activities and superoxide release of macrophages compared with those of MRL/n mice. In another lpr congenic mice C57BL/6-lpr/lpr (B6/1) showed, however, neither lupus lesions nor the activation of macrophages in spite of the remarkable lymphoproliferation. These results may suggest the importance of background genes of MRL/Mp-+/+ strain of mice in addition to lpr gene expression for the activation of macrophages and further the development of murine lupus of MRL/l mice.
