title: HLA-B27 transgenic rat: an animal model mimicking gut and joint involvement in human spondyloarthritides.
abstract: The HLA-B27 gene is strongly associated with the spondyloarthropathies (SpA), a group of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting the bowel, the joints, and the axial skeleton. Yet the basis for this association remains unknown, despite extensive study in the past years. The HLA-B27 transgenic rat spontaneously develops a disease that strikingly resembles human SpA. The purpose of this article is to review the contribution of studies on the HLA-B27 transgenic rat model aimed to elucidate the intimate relationship between gut and joint involvement in SpA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, Division of Rheumatology-DENOTHE, Center for the Study at the Molecular and Clinical Level of Chronic, Degenerative, and Neoplastic Diseases to Develop Novel Therapies, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. milia_af@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Anna Franca
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Milia
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ibba-Manneschi
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manetti
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benelli
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Messerini
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matucci-Cerinic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007596:Joints / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D025241:Spondylarthritis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen