Serum transfer of collagen arthritis in congenitally athymic nude rats.
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.
D000818:Animals; D001168:Arthritis / Q000209:etiology*; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003094:Collagen / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors
D001323:Autoantibodies; D007106:Immune Sera; D003094:Collagen