The choice of adjuvant determines the cytokine profile of T cells in proteoglycan-induced arthritis but does not influence disease severity.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovial joints. Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and proteoglycan-induced arthritis (PGIA) are mouse models of inflammatory arthritis; CIA is a T helper type 17 (Th17) -dependent disease that is induced with antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant, whereas PGIA is Th1-mediated and is induced using antigen in dimethyldioctadecyl-ammonium bromide (DDA) as an adjuvant. To investigate whether the type of adjuvant determines the cytokine profile of the pathogenic T cells, we have compared the effect of CFA and DDA on T-cell responses in a single arthritis model. No differences in incidence or disease severity between aggrecan-T-cell receptor transgenic mice immunized with aggrecan in either CFA or DDA were observed. Immunization with CFA resulted in a higher proportion of Th17 cells, whereas DDA induced more Th1 cells. However, the levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) produced by T cells isolated from CFA-immunized mice after antigen-specific stimulation were not significantly different from those found in DDA-immunized mice, indicating that the increased proportion of Th17 cells did not result in significantly higher ex vivo IL-17 levels. Hence, the choice of adjuvant can affect the overall proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells, without necessarily affecting the level of cytokine production or disease incidence and severity.

• Authors: Jeroen N Stoop, Christopher A Tibbitt, Willem van Eden, John H Robinson, Catharien M U Hilkens
• Journal: Immunology (Immunology) Vol. 138 Issue 1 Pg. 68-75 (Jan 2013) ISSN: 1365-2567 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23077978 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Chemical References

• Adjuvants, Immunologic
• Cytokines
• Proteoglycans

Topics

• Adjuvants, Immunologic
• Animals
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (chemically induced, immunology, pathology)
• Cytokines (biosynthesis, immunology)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred DBA
• Mice, Transgenic
• Proteoglycans
• Th1 Cells (immunology)
• Th17 Cells (immunology)