Joint inflammations and flare-up reactions in mice induced by a helper T cell clone.

Joint inflammation was induced in mice by cloned helper T cells specific for methylated bovine serum albumin (mBSA). This occurred after local injection of the helper T cells together with mBSA into the knee joint, but also when the helper T cells were intravenously injected and the antigen directly into the joint. Local injection of mBSA several weeks after waning of a joint inflammation induced by cloned helper T cells caused a flare-up reaction, indicating that the helper T cells persisted in the joint after the primary inflammation.