A cardinal feature of organ-specific autoimmunity is destructive pathology in the target organ. In human and experimental models of autoimmune
gastritis, mononuclear cell infiltration and cellular destruction in the gastric mucosa are disease hallmarks. Strategies to cure
autoimmune disease must not only establish immunological tolerance
to autoantigen, but also rid the organ of pathogenic autoreactive cells. The present study has assessed the effect of
prednisolone treatment in clearing the inflammatory infiltrate in experimental autoimmune
gastritis and in preventing disease relapse in athymic compared with euthymic mice. Experimental autoimmune
gastritis was induced by neonatal
thymectomy or by transgenic expression of
GM-CSF (PC-GMCSF mice). Groups of mice were treated with
prednisolone (10 mg/kg per day) for 10 weeks or with
prednisolone for 10 weeks followed by 10 weeks without
prednisolone. Stomachs were examined for gross morphological changes, and by histology and immunohistochemistry for composition of inflammatory infiltrate and gastric mucosal integrity.
Autoantibody to gastric H+/K+
ATPase was determined by ELISA.
Prednisolone promoted remission of
gastritis in both mouse models of experimental autoimmune
gastritis, evident by reduction in stomach size, clearing of gastric inflammatory infiltrate, and regeneration of the gastric mucosa.
Prednisolone withdrawal resulted in disease relapse in all PC-GMCSF mice, whereas approximately 40% of neonatal
thymectomy mice retained normal stomach morphology and remained free of gastric pathology. It is concluded that
prednisolone promotes remission and gastric mucosal regeneration in experimental autoimmune
gastritis. Prolonged remission of autoimmune
gastritis in some athymic mice suggests a role for the thymus in disease relapse.