ORIGINAL ARTICLE doi: 10.5606/ArchRheumatol.2015.5505 Arch Rheumatol 2015;30(4):285-291 Low Birth Weight and Maternal and Neonatal Deaths are Complications of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Pregnant Pristane Induced Lupus Mice Handono KALIM, 1 Kusworini HANDONO, 2 Mirza Zaka PRATAMA, 3 Sofi Nur FITRIA, 3 Vardian MAHARDIKA 3 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Brawijaya University, Division of Rheumatology, Malang, Indonesia 2 Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia 3 Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia Received: November 20, 2014 Accepted: January 26, 2015 Published online: May 04, 2015 Correspondence: Handono Kalim, MD. Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Brawijaya University, Division of Rheumatology, 65111 Malang, Indonesia. Tel: +62 816 552 455 e-mail: hkalim333@gmail.com ©2015 Turkish League Against Rheumatism. All rights reserved. ABSTRACT Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus and pregnancy in pristane induced lupus mice model, including the pregnancy outcome for mothers and neonates. Materials and methods: Sixteen female Balb/c mice 6-8 week-old were separated into two groups: pristane induced lupus (PIL) mice group that received a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml of pristane and healthy control (HC) group that received phosphate-buffered saline injection. At one month after injection, all mice were mated with 8-10 week-old male Balb/c mice. All mice from both groups were observed for body weight and survival. On the day of births; number of neonates born, birth weight, and length of neonates were calculated. Neonates were also monitored for survival rate and their ages along the study. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in body weight before and after delivery, survival rate during pregnancy, number of neonates born, and gestational ages of mothers from both groups. Mothers began to die in the postpartum period. On third day after delivery, 0% of mothers from PIL group survived whereas 100% mothers from HC group survived (p=0.000). Of neonates born from PIL group, 15% survived at the end of fifth day after birth whereas 100% of neonates from HC group still survived (p=0.000). Neonates from PIL group also had significantly lower body weight and body length at birth compared to HC group (p=0.000 and p=0.000, respectively). Conclusion: Maternal and neonatal death, low birth weight, and low birth length are complications of systemic lupus erythematosus at pregnancy in pristane induced lupus mice model. Keywords: Low birth weight and length; maternal and neonatal deaths; pregnancy; systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with multiple organs manifestations including the kidneys, joints, hematopoietic organs, and nervous system. Immune system aberrations, as well as heritable, hormonal and environmental factors interplay in the expression of organ damage and clinical manifestation of the disease. 1 SLE predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Although patients with SLE are as fertile as women in the general population, their pregnancies may be associated with complications. Pregnancy and its outcome is a major concern to most SLE patients. Queries regarding the risk of disease flares during pregnancy and chance of fetal loss are often raised. 2,3 Pregnant patients with SLE have an increased risk complication of pregnancy. The incidence of pre-eclampsia in lupus pregnancies ranges from 5 to 38% in various reported series, which is higher than that of pregnancies in women without SLE. 4,5 Recent studies have provided information regarding the course of pregnancy in patients with lupus nephritis. Hypertension developed frequently (37-56%) during pregnancies in these patients. Pre-eclampsia may develop in up to