Collagen-induced arthritis--characteristics of the animal model and implications for the treatment of autoimmune disease.

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is a chronic polyarthritis induced in mice and rats by immunization with homologous or heterologous type II collagen (CII). In this study, we report on a variety of experiments designed to elucidate the characteristics of CIA and its potential application in the treatment of human disease. The notable results were as follows: Both mouse anti-human-CII monoclonal antibody and a mouse T cell clone reactive to human CII were able to provoke arthritis when i.v. injected into naive mice. When injected together, a synergistic enhancement of the incidence and severity of passive arthritis was seen. However, inoculation with irradiated T cells reactive to human CII could suppress the development of active CIA. Given these results and the fact that CIA closely resembles rheumatoid arthritis both clinically and histologically, we suggest that the CIA animal model provides a good tool for studying the potential of T cell vaccination as a means of treating or preventing human autoimmune diseases.