HLA-B27 transgenic rats model.
To investigate the role of HLA-B27 in the pathogenesis of spondylarthropathies, rats transgenic for HLA-B27 and human beta 2-microglobulin were produced. Several lines of B27 transgenic rats spontaneously develop a multisystem inflammatory disorder reminiscent of human spondylarthropathies, with gut, joint, skin and male genital lesions. The role of HLA-B27 in this model was studied and it was found that a high expression level of the transgene in cells of hematopoietic origin was critical to induce inflammatory manifestations. Furthermore, a combined implication of CD4+ T cells and antigen presenting cells in this model is suspected, based on passive transfer studies, although a specific influence of HLA-B27 upon T cell education in the thymus is unlikely to be important. Beside the immune system, bacterial flora exerts an important influence in this model, as a triggering agent of gut and joint inflammation. Finally, endogenous rat genetic factors are suspected to be involved in this model.
Breban
M
M
Institut de Rhumatologie and INSERM U477, Hôpital Cochin, 27, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris.
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012307:Risk Factors; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000235:genetics
D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin