title: Mechanisms underlying the suppression of adjuvant-induced arthritis by 6-mercaptopurine.
abstract: Daily oral administration of 6-mercaptopurine suppressed the development of the secondary (immune) lesions of adjuvant arthritis in a dose-related manner. The degrees of arthritis suppression corresponded closely to suppressions of concurrent development of the humoral and the cellular immune response to El4 cells. A short course of therapy during the sensitization period (day - 1 to day 5 when the day of adjuvant injection is designated as day 0) appeared to be almost as effective as continued daily dosing (day - 1 to day 15). The drug did not influence the development of the primary (nonimmune) lesions of adjuvant arthritis at all dosage levels investigated. Chronic pretreatment with 10 mg/kg/day PO for 17 days had no effect on the development of carrageenin-induced acute inflammation in the rat. The suppression of adjuvant arthritis by 6-mercaptopurine, unlike suppression by cyclophosphamide, appears to result primarily from its suppressive action on the immune response.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D001168:Arthritis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002351:Carrageenan; D002460:Cell Line; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010653:Phenylbutazone / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002351:Carrageenan; D015122:Mercaptopurine; D010653:Phenylbutazone