Graham Rook0, Steve

The role of oil and agalactosyl IgG in the induction of arthritis in rodent models* The proportion of agalactosyl IgG [Gal(O)] is raised in human rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis. We report here that injection of pristane into the peritoneal cavities of mice on days0 and 50, which is known to induce plasmacytomas and arthritis, also induced a rise in the proportion of Gal(O), correlating with a simultaneous rise in the level of IgG antibody binding to the 65-kDa heat-shock protein of Mycobacterium bovis (hsp65). Arthritis developed in a proportion of those CBAAgb mice with the highest percentage of Gal(0). Pretreatment with 50 pg of recombinant mycobacterial hsp65 intraperitoneal (i.p.) on day- 10, or with 500 rad irradiation on day-2 before the first of the two injections of pristane reduced the incidence of arthritis from 24 % in control animals, to 5.3 % and 0.4%0, respectively. The reduced incidence of disease correlated with smaller rises in the %Gal(O) at 50-75 days, although levels at 150-200 days were not affected