Flare-up of antigen-induced arthritis in mice after challenge with intravenous antigen: studies on the characteristics of and mechanisms involved in the reaction.

Abstract

Intravenous (i.v.) administration of 300 micrograms methylated BSA (mBSA) to C57-Black mice with unilateral antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) of 4-6 weeks duration resulted in a reproducible flare-up of ongoing arthritis without signs of inflammation in the contralateral non-arthritic knee joint. In the present study we investigated characteristics of the flare-up phenomenon using histological grading and 99mtechnetium pertechnetate uptake measurements to detect and quantitate knee joint inflammation. At 6 h after intravenous mBSA administration flare-up of arthritis was demonstrable, showing histological characteristics of acute joint inflammation; later this progressed to chronic stages, but the inflammatory stage did not return to baseline values up to day 9 after i.v. challenge. Varying the dose of i.v. mBSA from 2 to 1000 micrograms showed that 10 micrograms was sufficient to elicit the phenomenon and also that the latter is dose-dependent. Using mice immunized with both mBSA and methylated HGG (mHGG) with either mBSA or mHGG-induced arthritis, we could show that 4-6 weeks after arthritis induction the flare-up phenomenon is antigen specific. Intra-articular injection of as little as 10 ng of mBSA resulted in exacerbation of inflammation in joints with chronic mBSA-induced arthritis, but induced no inflammation in the contralateral non-arthritic knee joints, indicating local hypersensitivity in the former joints. The flare-up phenomenon may be due to local hyper-reactivity of chronically inflamed joints to minimal amounts of circulating antigen entering the joint.

• Authors: J W Lens, W B van den Berg, L B van de Putte
• Journal: Clinical and experimental immunology (Clin Exp Immunol) Vol. 55 Issue 2 Pg. 287-94 (Feb 1984) ISSN: 0009-9104 [Print] England
• PMID: 6199138 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antigens
• Epitopes
• gamma-Globulins
• Serum Albumin, Bovine
• Technetium
• Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m

Topics

• Animals
• Antigens (immunology)
• Arthritis (immunology)
• Arthritis, Experimental (immunology, pathology)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic
• Epitopes
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Serum Albumin, Bovine (immunology)
• Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m
• Synovial Membrane (pathology)
• Technetium
• Time Factors
• gamma-Globulins (immunology)