Pristane induced arthritis in mice. IV. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies directed against lymphocyte subsets.

Pristane induced arthritis (PIA), a seropositive experimental disease model in mice, was used to investigate the influence of immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies against lymphocyte subsets. Treatment with L3T4, a monoclonal antibody specific for murine CD4+ T cells, significantly reduced the incidence of pristane arthritis, and delayed the disease onset. Monoclonal antibody to Lyt2, the murine CD8+ T cell marker, significantly reduced the levels of rheumatoid factor in pristane injected animals compared with controls, but did not influence the clinical course of PIA. Our experiments demonstrate the ability of anti-CD4 antibodies to modify the course of PIA, and provide support for the hypothesis that CD4+ T lymphocytes have an important role in the pathogenesis of this experimental autoimmune arthritis.