Background/Purpose:

Human-papilloma virus vaccine (HPVv) is currently used worldwide. Still this vaccine has been linked to a variety of neurological and autoimmune manifestations. For instance, case series have document adverse events related to the vaccination in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Moreover, the HPVv contains aluminum hydroxide as adjuvant which has been also associated with neurological adverse events. Therefore, our goal was to evaluate the effects of immunization with HPVv or Alum in SLE prone mice.

Methods:

Three groups of  NZB/W F₁mice were vaccinated with HPVv (Gardasil), Aluminum hydroxide (Alum) or the vehicle at 6 weeks of age. The mice received three injections equivalent to the human dose. Mice were followed for lupus and behavior  parameters, including anti-dsDNA antibodies titers, urine protein levels, immunoglobulin deposited in the kidney mesangium, behavioral and neurocognitive functions (i.e. novel object recognition, staircase, Y-maze, rotarod and the forced swimming tests).  

Results:

Mice immunized with HPVv had higher titers of anti-dsDNA antibodies earlier as well as accelerated proteinuria between the age of 20 to 24 weeks (p<0.05) compared with vehicle and alum groups. Similarly, we observed a trend in long and short term memory deficiency following immunization with HPVv. Interestingly, the mice did not show any motor involvement as in the roatorod all the animals had good performance; however in the FST mice immunized with HPVv were immobile for a longer time in comparison to Alum and vehicle which indicates depressive like behavior.

Conclusion:

We demonstrated that immunization with the HPVv accelerates the onset of renal disease in lupus mice. Likewise, we showed that vaccine together with its adjuvant can affect behavioral and neurocognitive functions in particular accelerating the appearance of  depressive like behavior.

« Back to 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/hpv-vaccination-of-nzbxwf1-mice/