Castaneda, Adrian Lance2016-09-162016-09-162016-09-15vt_gsexam:8802http://hdl.handle.net/10919/72952Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) is a cytoplasmic enzyme that acetylates several proteins that are involved in the immune response. HDAC6 inhibition has been shown in various models to decrease inflammation by altering various proteins involved in the dysregulation of B and T cell responses. In our current studies we sought to determine if HDAC6 inhibition would decrease disease in lupus-prone mice using two murine mouse models of SLE: MRL/lpr mice and NZB/W F1 mice. Both mouse models were fed a rodent diet formulated with the selective HDAC6 inhibitor ACY-738 (N-hydroxy-2-(1-phenylcycloproylamino) pyrimidine-5-carboxamide). NZBW mice received 18 weeks of treatment starting at 16-weeks-of-age and had an average of 57.3 +/- 14.6 ng/mL of ACY-738 in the plasma. MRL/lpr mice received 7 weeks of treatment starting at 11-weeks-of-age and had an average of 78.5 +/- 17.3 ng/mL of ACY-738 in the plasma. Controls received either dexamethasone 5x a week or were left untreated. As the mice aged, body weight, urine protein, and blood sera was collected weekly. Spleen cells were isolated following euthanasia for flow cytometry and kidneys were also collected for histological analyses. We found that in both mouse models that mice treated with ACY-738 had reduced splenic weight and IgG immunoglobulin isotypes. MRL/lpr mice that were treated with ACY-738 had a reduction in the number of IL-17+, ROR-gamma-t TH17 cells. NZBW/ F1 mice that received ACY-738 treatment also had a reduction in the TH17 cells and we observed a significant reduction in kidney pathology. Selective HDAC6 targeting may warrant future investigations as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of SLE.ETDIn CopyrightSLET cellsα -tubulinAutoimmunityHDACiHDAC6Thesis