Impact of CD200-Fc on dendritic cells in lupus-prone NZB/WF1 mice

Abnormal expression of CD200/CD200R1 may contribute to the immunologic abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study aimed to assess the function of CD200/CD200R1and impact of CD200-Fc on dendritic cells in lupus-prone NZB/WF1 mice. Female NZB/WF1 mice were treated with CD200-Fc or control for 4 weeks. Plasma samples were collected to measure autoantibody levels. The expression levels of CD200/CD200R1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and splenocytes were examined. The percentage of CD200/CD200R1-positive cells in splenocytes from NZB/WF1 mice was lower than that of C57BL/6 mice (p < 0.05). The plasma level of anti-dsDNA was significantly higher in NZB/WF1 mice than C57BL/6 mice (p < 0.001). However, the anti-dsDNA levels decreased (p = 0.047) after CD200-Fc treatment. Finally, CD200-Fc reduced the levels of IL-6 (p = 0.017) and IL-10 (p = 0.03) in the dendritic cell culture supernatant. This study suggests that the immunosuppressive CD200/CD200R1 signaling pathway might be involved in the immunopathology of NZB/WF1 mice; the present results merit further exploration of agents that can modulate the CD200/CD200FR1 pathway as a therapy for human lupus.