Neutrophils and neutrophil serine proteases are increased in the spleens of estrogen-treated C57BL/6 mice and several strains of spontaneous lupus-prone mice.

ABSTRACT: Estrogen, a natural immunomodulator, regulates the development and function of diverse immune cell types. There is now renewed attention on neutrophils and neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs) such as neutrophil elastase (NE), proteinase 3 (PR3), and cathepsin G (CG) in inflammation and autoimmunity. In this study, we found that although estrogen treatment significantly reduced total splenocytes number, it markedly increased the splenic neutrophil absolute numbers in estrogen-treated C57BL/6 (B6) mice when compared to placebo controls. Concomitantly, the levels of NSPs and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were highly upregulated in the splenocytes from estrogen-treated mice. Despite the critical role of NSPs in the regulation of non-infectious inflammation, by employing NE-/-/PR3-/-/CG-/- triple knock

SUBMITTER: Dai R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5305105 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature