[Induction of arthritis in mice by injection of homologous type II collagen].

Immunization with heterologous type II collagen (CII) induces arthritis in DBA/1 mice, a strain genetically susceptible to this disease. In order to develop an experimental model of autoimmunity more adequate for the study of human Rheumatoid Arthritis, DBA/1 mice were injected with homologous native CII. About 6 weeks later, the animals developed a chronic progressive polyarthritis assessed by clinical observations and histologic examination. The incidence of arthritis as well as the severity of the disease are clearly higher in males. Conversely, the secretion of autoantibodies raised against mouse CII is correlated neither with sex nor with activity score of the arthritis.