Streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis and flare-up reaction in mice induced by homologous or heterologous cell walls.
Intra-articular injection of cell walls from the gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes induces an arthritis in both streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-primed and naive mice. This joint inflammation subsides after 2 weeks but it could be reactivated by systemic injection of SCW in a dose-dependent way. The primary arthritis as well as the flare-up reaction were more vehement in immunized than naive mice. Pretreatment with antilymphocyte serum of nonimmunized arthritic mice before systemic challenge completely inhibits the flare-up reaction, suggesting the involvement of lymphocytes in the reactivation. Dose-response studies showed that intravenous challenge with SCW amounts too small to induce a primary arthritis were able to reactivate a chronic arthritis, implying that an inflamed joint is in a hyperreactive state, probably due to locally retained lymphocytes. Arthritis as a result of injection with SCW can be reactivated by fragments of a nonrelated, gram negative endogenous bacterium, Escherichia coli. The latter finding might be of importance for the understanding of the pathogenesis of chronic arthritis: once an arthritis is induced by one bacterium, other (unrelated) bacteria, probably derived from an endogenous source, may be able to reactivate the inflammatory process, thus contributing to chronicity.
D000818:Animals; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001168:Arthritis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002473:Cell Wall; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005260:Female; D007114:Immunization; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes; D013667:Technetium
D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D013667:Technetium