title: The Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis is Associated with Milk or Egg Allergy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a very complicated autoimmune disease with apparent synovial hyperplasia and cartilage and bone destruction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In the present study, we aimed to determine whether the pathogenesis of RA correlates with food allergy and which allergen(s) are relevant.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used type-II collagen (CII) to induce arthritis (collagen-induced arthritis, CIA) model in Wistar rats, and the development of arthritis was evaluated accordingly by scoring system. Proinflammatory cytokine levels in plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and concentrations of circulating immune complexes (CICs) were analyzed by C1q solid phase method. Furthermore, food-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were determined in the CIA model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the CIA model, we found that levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and IL-17, as well as CICs, were elevated significantly. Moreover, concentrations of milk- or egg-specific IgG and IgE were enhanced strikingly in CIA rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that pathogenesis of RA correlates closely to increased egg- or milk-specific antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Jianjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Qiongmei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Sixth People's Hospital of Shenzhen City, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Shengguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Pingchang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institue of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, Shen Zhen University, Shenzhen, China; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Egg allergen; food allergy; milk allergen; proinflammatory cytokines; rheumatoid arthritis (RA)