Effects of arsenic trioxide on T-bet/GATA3 signal pathway in MRL/lpr mice

AIM: To investigate the effect of arsenic trioxide (ATO) on T-bet/GATA3 signal pathway in MRL/lpr mice.METHODS: MRL/lpr mice and C57BL/6J mice at the age of 20 weeks were chosen and then divided in 2 different sub-groups, respectively. The mice in 2 sub-groups received ATO (0.4 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) and sodium chloride (NS, volume weight-determined) by intraperitoneal injection respectively for 2 months. Afterward, the spleens were isolated from the MRL/lpr and C57BL/6J mice under pathogen-free condition and the suspensions were prepared. The mRNA level of T-bet, GATA3, IFN-γ,IL-4 and the mRNA ratio of T-bet/GATA3 were detected by RT-qPCR. The protein expression of T-bet and GATA3 was determined by Western blot. The serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were measured by ELISA.RESULTS: The mRNA and protein levels of T-bet, IFN-γ and the mRNA ratio of T-bet/GATA3 in NS group of MRL/lpr mice were higher than those in NS group of C57BL/6J mice (P<0.05). However, the GATA3 and IL-4 were lower in NS group of MRL/lpr mice in both mRNA and protein level (P<0.05). In MRL/lpr mice, the mRNA and protein levels of T-bet, IFN-γ and the mRNA ratio of T-bet/GATA3 were lower in ATO group compared with NS group (P<0.05), no difference was found in GATA3 and IL-4. No difference of the indexes mentioned above between ATO group and NS group in C57BL/6J mice was observed.CONCLUSION: ATO may affect the signaling pathway of T-bet/GATA3 to down-regulate the mRNA expression and the protein secretion of IFN-γ by decreasing the expression of T-bet in MRL/lpr mice.