The impact of early life stressors on the progression of SLE

Our preliminary studies show that an established model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the female NZBWF1 mouse, had worsened indices of disease later in life when the mice were shipped to our institution at an early age during the summer. We hypothesized that interleukin (IL)-6-induced release of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is upregulated in response to this summer early-life stressor, thus accelerating autoimmunity and renal disease in female SLE mice. To begin to study this, we measured renal IL-6 and HSP90 in 6-week-old female NZBWF1 mice that were shipped in winter or summer months and found that both were elevated immediately following summer compared to winter travel. Our findings indicate that the mediators associated with early-life travel/seasonal stressors may predict the progression of autoimmunity in SLE-prone mice. Other findings here within highlight the specificity of this effect in the kidney and describe sex differences in the observed phenomena.