Induction of experimental chronic arthritis in rabbits by cell-free fragments of Erysipelothrix.
A cell-free crude extract of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae injected by high pressure jet into the knee-joint of rabbits stimulated an acute, mild inflammatory reaction. Additional injections at 3-day intervals induced a chronic condition characterized by hyperplasia of the synovial cells and hypertrophy of the villi, due to infiltration by lymphocytes and plasma cells which formed aggregates resembling Allison-Ghormley bodies. There was also extensive proliferation of stroma vasculature and fibrous tissue. A similar jet injection of the diluent produced an early, transient, acute, and mild inflammation. A mechanism is postulated for fixation of one or more of the chemically characterized antigens in or near the synovium as a means of inducing the localized inflammatory response that predisposes the joint to infection.
D000818:Animals; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002474:Cell-Free System; D004888:Erysipelothrix / Q000276:immunology; D004889:Erysipelothrix Infections; D005260:Female; D007114:Immunization; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits