Cartilage proteoglycan-specific T cells as vectors of immunomodulatory biologicals in chronic proteoglycan-induced arthritis

Cartilage proteoglycan-specific T cell response in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

1Department of Pediatric Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 2Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Division of Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 3Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 4Section of Molecular Medicine, De...

Investigating the Genetic Background of Proteoglycan- Induced Arthritis and Proteoglycan-Induced Ankylosing Spondylitis

Investigating the Genetic Background of Proteoglycan-Induced Arthritis and Proteoglycan- Induced Ankylosing Spondylitis

Introduction: The MHC (H-2d) and non-MHC genetic background make the BALB/c strain highly susceptible to inflammatory arthritis and spondylitis. Although different BALB/c colonies develop proteoglycan (PG)-induced arthritis (PGIA) and spondylitis (PGIS) in response to immunization with human cartilage PG, they show significant differences in disease penetrance, despite being maintained by the s...

Immune Recognition of Citrullinated Proteoglycan Aggrecan Epitopes in Mice with Proteoglycan-Induced Arthritis and in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting the joints. Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) are frequently found in RA. Previous studies identified a citrullinated epitope in cartilage proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan that elicited pro-inflammatory cytokine production by RA T cells. We recently reported the presence of ACPA-reactive (citrullinated) PG...

Attenuation of Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Mice by Salmon Proteoglycan

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious autoimmune disease caused by chronic inflammation of connective tissues. The basic principle of RA treatment is aimed to reduce joint inflammation. Our previous studies demonstrated that salmon cartilage proteoglycan (PG) suppresses excess inflammation in different mouse inflammatory diseases. In this study, we investigated the prophylactic effect of PG on...