Effect of cyclophosphamide, hydrocortisone and levamisole on collagen-induced arthritis in rats.

The immune response of rats to type II collagen was modified by pretreating the rats with levamisole, hydrocortisone, or cyclophosphamide. Rats were observed for the development of collagen-induced arthritis and were bled serially for the determination of antibody levels to type II collagen. Levamisole had a slight but not significant potentiating effect with arthritis developing earlier, whereas hydrocortisone and cyclophosphamide significantly depressed the incidence of arthritis; cyclophosphamide also delayed its onset. Antibody levels measured by radioimmunoassay paralleled the clinical course of arthritis.