Collagen-induced arthritis in C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice: New insights into an important disease model of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is a widely used model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and has been important for understanding autoimmunity. CIA is purportedly restricted to mice bearing the MHC class II H-2(q) or H-2(r) haplotypes. In this study, we re-examined established concepts regarding susceptibility to CIA. We found mice derived from the C57BL/6 (B6) (H-2b) background can develop CIA with high incidence (60-70%), and sustained severity by using an immunization procedure modified for optimum response in DBA/1 (D1) (H-2(q)) mice. Clinically and histologically the B6 disease resembles that of D1 mice and is dependent on immunization with type II collagen, as well as on B and CD4+ T cells..