Suppression of adjuvant arthritis by antibodies specific for collagen type II.

Immunization of Lewis rats with an alum flocculate of collagen type II, prior to the induction of arthritis by an intradermal injection of Mycobacterium butyricum in oil, caused reduced arthritic responses when compared with non-pretreated control animals. The majority of collagen-immunized animals that expressed diminished disease possessed low levels of serum antibody to collagen type II whereas most rats with undiminished disease did not. Passive immunization of Lewis rats with antibody to collagen type II also effectively reduced the severity of adjuvant-induced arthritis. Two possible mechanisms that might explain suppression of this disease by antibodies to collagen type II are discussed.