Effect of MBP-C5a vaccination in CAIA.

<p>Four-month-old male QB mice were injected intravenously with a cocktail of three complement activating monoclonal antibodies (6 mg in total/mouse) binding to CII on day 0, followed by LPS (25 µg/mouse intraperitoneally) on day +5. MBP-C5a or PBS emulsified in CFA/IFA was injected at the back of the mice on days −21, −10 and −2 as indicated by arrows. The mice were scored every day and the graphs present (A) incidence (maximal possible value is 100) and (B) severity of arthritis (maximal possible value is 60). Serum samples were collected from these mice on days −1 and +21 as indicated in the figure. Error bars indicate SEM and n denotes number of mice in each group. The severity of arthritis was analyzed by Mann–Whitney U ranking test and the incidence by χ² test. C5a vaccinated animals had less frequent (38% versus 95%; p<0.0005) as well as severity of arthritis (mean maximum score, p<0.0001) compared to control (PBS with CFA or IFA) vaccinated animals. n, indicates number of mice in each group.