Serum transfer of collagen arthritis in congenitally athymic nude rats.

Abstract

The role of cellular immunity in collagen arthritis was investigated with congenitally athymic nude rats (rnu/rnu) and their heterozygous littermates (rnu/+). Immunization with type II collagen induced polyarthritis and definite immunity to type II collagen in rnu/+ rats, whereas rnu/rnu rats did not develop arthritis or immunity to collagen. An additional study demonstrated that collagen arthritis could be passively transferred with a serum concentrate from arthritic Sprague-Dawley rats to naive rnu/rnu rats as well as to rnu/+ rats. Histopathologically, the passively transferred arthritis in rnu/rnu rats resembled that in rnu/+ rats. Despite no difference in clearance of anti-type II collagen antibody after transfer between them, the passively transferred arthritis in rnu/rnu rats was significantly enhanced and prolonged in comparison with that in rnu/+ rats. These results indicate that arthritis may be inducible by humoral immunity in the absence of functional T cells and also suggest that anti-type II collagen-antibody is not the sole regulatory factor and that the suppressor cell system might regulate the clinical course of the disease.

• Authors: K Takagishi, N Kaibara, T Hotokebuchi, C Arita, M Morinaga, K Arai
• Journal: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) (J Immunol) Vol. 134 Issue 6 Pg. 3864-7 (Jun 1985) ISSN: 0022-1767 [Print] United States
• PMID: 3989301 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Autoantibodies
• Immune Sera
• Collagen

Topics

• Animals
• Arthritis (etiology)
• Arthritis, Experimental (etiology, genetics, immunology)
• Autoantibodies (biosynthesis)
• Collagen (immunology)
• Female
• Immune Sera (administration & dosage)
• Immunity, Cellular
• Rats
• Rats, Inbred Strains
• Rats, Mutant Strains (immunology)
• Thymus Gland (physiopathology)
• Time Factors