Alterations in memory and visio-spatial learning in a pristane-induced lupus balb/c mice

Background: Neuropsychiatric lupus is a condition that occurs in 30%–40% of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and is associated with the presence of autoantibodies in central nervous system (CNS). The pristane-induced lupus in BALB/c mice is an experimental model that presents clinical and immunological similarities to SLE pathogenesis and it can be proposed as model to analyse affectations in visio-spatial learning and memory. Objectives: To evaluate short and long term visio-spatial learning and memory in Balb/c pristane-induced lupus using Barnes maze test. Methods: Fourteen female Balb/c mice were studied: 4 controls (single intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 mL NaCl 0.9%), 5 treated with pristane (single intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 mL pristane) and 5 treated with pristane plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 3 mg/kg 4 months post-administration of pristane. Short and long term visio-spatial learning and memory was evaluated in all groups at 7 weeks after the administration of LPS using Barnes maze test. The test consists of 3 phases: adaptation phase, acquisition phase and test phase. The short-term memory was evaluated during the acquisition phase (4 tests per day, D1-D4) and the long-term memory was evaluated 48 hour after the last test of the acquisition phase. Primary and total errors, primary and total latencies were analysed. The results are shown as a mean ±SD. Kruscal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Results: All mice treated with pristane showed higher latencies to find the target hole in Barnes maze compared with controls during the short-term memory test (STP, D1-D4). In the long-term memory test (LTP) the highest latency in seconds (s) was observed in the pristane plus LPS group (64.6±59.1 s) followed by the pristane group (62.4±69.6 s) in comparation control group (7±3.6 s). Abstract FRI0278 – Figure 1 Total. Latency in Barnes maze test. Total latency in seconds between mice groups (pristane, pristane + LPS and control) in STP (A) and LTP tests (B) in Barnes’s maze Conclusions: The increased latencies in the groups pristane plus LPS and pristane with respect to controls suggests that the autoantibodies produced in this model could be involved in alterations of the CNS, modifying the learning and memory processes. These results also suggest that pristane may have the potential to alter the permeability of the blood-brain barrier by itself. However, more experimental studies are needed to confirm the results obtained in this study. Disclosure of Interest: None declared DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-eular.5810 Citation: Ann Rheum Dis, volume 77, supplement Suppl, year 2018, page A677Session: SLE, Sjögren’s and APS – etiology.3, pathogenesis and animal models