Abstract

There is accumulating evidence that haem oxygenase (HO)-1 plays a protective role in various disorders. The beneficial efficacy of HO-1 induction therapy has been shown in renal diseases such as glomerulonephritis, interstitial nephritis and drug induced nephrotoxicity. However, involvement of HO-1 in the development of autoimmune renal diseases remains uncertain. To assess the clinical efficacy of HO-1 induction therapy for lupus glomerulonephritis, MRL/lpr mice were intraperitoneally injected with 100 micromol/kg hemin, a potent HO-1 inducer, or PBS as controls, once a week from 6 weeks of age to 21-24 weeks-old. We found that treatment with hemin led to a significant reduction of proteinuria and remarkable amelioration of glomerular lesions accompanied by decreased immune depositions. In addition, the circulating IgG anti-double-stranded DNA antibody level was significantly decreased in hemin treated mice when compared with controls. A single intraperitoneal injection with hemin resulted in reduction of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in the kidney and spleen, and serum interferon-gamma level. Our results suggest that HO-1 induction therapy ameliorates lupus nephritis by suppressing nitric oxide (NO) dependent inflammatory responses and attenuating production of pathogenic autoantibodies.