Lupus Serum IgG Induces Microglia Activation Through Fc Fragment Dependent Way and Modulated by B-cell Activating Factor

Background: Neuropsychiatric manifestations are frequent in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), yet the etiology and pathogenesis of brain damage in SLE remains unclear. Because the production of autoantibodies, formation and deposition of immunocomplexes are major serological characteristics of SLE, the elevated level of serum immunoglobulin may contribute to brain tissue injury of SLE. To testify this, in this study, we examined whether immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the serum of SLE patients affects the cellular functions in central nervous system and the potential mechanism.

Methods: In vivo intracerebral injection of SLE-serum in mouse was used to activate microglia and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine was assessed by ELISA. Sera was divided into IgG and IgG depleted fractions, while IgG was further divided into Fc and Fab fragments to examine which part has an effect on microglia. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and quantitative PCR (qPCR) were used to verify the synergistic effect of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) on IgG stimulation of microglia.

Results: We found that IgG in lupus sera can induce M1 activation of brain microglia following intraventricular injection into normal mice, and BAFF facilitates this process. In vitro, we identified that IgG bound to microglia through Fc rather than Fab fragments, and BAFF up-regulated the expression of Fc receptors (FcγR) on the surface of microglia, consequently, promote IgG binding to microglia.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that lupus serum IgG causes inflammatory responses of microglia by involving the Fc signaling pathway and the activity could be up-regulated by BAFF. Accordingly, disruption of the FcγR-mediated signaling pathway and blockade of microglia activation may be a therapeutic target in patients with neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus.