Prevention of experimental autoimmune arthritis with a peptide fragment of type II collagen.

Collagen arthritis is induced in inbred rats with the injection of native type II collagen. The pathogenesis of this experimental autoimmune disease is T cell dependent. This study demonstrates that collagen-specific T cells, derived from pathogenic and nonpathogenic rat T cell lines, both recognize the same peptide epitope. The epitope, consisting of amino acids 58-73 of cyanogen bromide fragment 11 of type II collagen, was as effective as whole collagen in stimulating a panel of collagen-specific rat/mouse T cell hybridomas. This peptide may, therefore, constitute a dominant epitope for CD4+ rat T cells in their response to type II collagen. Administration of the peptide to either neonatal or adult rats prevented the subsequent induction of experimental arthritis with whole collagen, demonstrating that the in vivo response to this dominant epitope is, therefore, relevant in the pathogenesis of arthritis. Despite its ability to prevent collagen-induced arthritis, administration of this peptide in incomplete Freund's adjuvant intradermally did not induce disease.