Experimental Models of Autoimmune Prostatitis

RIERA, CM; MACCIONI, M; MOTRICH, RD; RIVERO, VE

Milan

Congreso; 15th International Congress of Immunology; 2013

International Union of Immunology Societies

Animal models have long been used to study human disease in order to identify etiologies, pathogenic mechanisms and development of therapies. Ideally, they must mimic, if not all, most of the features observed in human disease. Despite continuing debate about ethics on using animal models in biomedical research, the field has experienced considerable progress during last decades. Several animal models, particularly mouse models, have been developed. Diseases can be spontaneous (naturally occurring), or be induced by physical, chemical or biological means. The prostate is the target of several diseases, such as infection, chronic inflammation, benign hyperplasia and cancer. Autoimmune prostatitis (AP) has become to be recognized as a disease occurring in patients, and animal models of Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis (EAP) are available. Certainly, NOD mice develop AP spontaneously with age and immunization of young males with prostate antigens induces an exacerbated disease mimicking most features observed in human pathology. Florid infiltrates circumscribed to dorsolateral prostatic lobes are observed, accompanied of humoral and T cell-mediated responses. Prostate-specific IFN-γ secreting cells are detected in periphery and Th1-related cytokines in the target organ. Increased IFN-γ and IL-12 levels are observed in prostate tissue from immunized animals, while IL-10 and IL-4 levels are decreased. Moreover, mice deficient in IFN-γ, IL-12, or in factors involved in IFN-γ signaling cascade (IRF-1 or STAT-1) are resistant to EAP induction. On the contrary, IL-4-deficient animals develop a more exacerbated disease. After reviewing all the experimental evidence, we propose EAP models as valid for the study of human disease.