Frontiers in Medicine (Apr 2021)

Intratracheal Poly(I:C) Exposure Accelerates the Immunological Disorder of Salivary Glands in Sjogren's-Like NOD/ShiLtJ Mice

  • Peng Hu,
  • Bingxia Ming,
  • Xuefen Wu,
  • Shaozhe Cai,
  • Jungen Tang,
  • Yuanji Dong,
  • Tianshu Zhou,
  • Zheng Tan,
  • Jixin Zhong,
  • Fang Zheng,
  • Fang Zheng,
  • Fang Zheng,
  • Fang Zheng,
  • Lingli Dong

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.645816
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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Evidences have suggested that Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is associated with viral infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of respiratory viral poly(I:C) in the pathogenesis of SS and potential mechanisms using a SS-like NOD/ShiLtJ (NOD) mouse model. 5-week female NOD mice were intratracheally administered poly(I:C) every other day for 5 times to mimic viral infection. Pilocarpine induced saliva secretion was determined every 8 days. Submandibular glands (SMG) and lungs were harvested for the detection of pathological changes. We found that intratracheal administration of poly(I:C) significantly advanced and enhanced the reduction of saliva flow rate in NOD mice. Furthermore, poly(I:C) treatment aggravated the histopathological lesions and inflammatory cells infiltration in SMG. Accompanied by elevated expression of IFN cytokines and IL-33, Th1 activation was enhanced in SMG of poly(I:C)-treated NOD mice, but Th17 cells activation was unchanged among the groups. In addition, intratracheal poly(I:C) exposure promoted the expression of IL-33 and increased T cells proportion in the lung, which were consistent with the change in SMG. Therefore, intratracheal poly(I:C) exposure aggravated the immunological and function disorder of SMG in NOD mice.

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