Genetically susceptible Lewis rats injected in the intestinal wall with peptidoglycan-polysaccharide (PG-APS) polymers develop chronic granulomatous enterocolitis concomitant with activation of the kallikrein-kinin system. To elucidate the role of high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) in chronic enterocolitis, we back crossed Brown-Norway rats having a HK deficiency with Lewis rats for five gene...

PURPOSE To explore the role of the complement system and complement regulatory proteins in an immune-privileged organ, the eye. METHODS Eyes of normal Lewis rats were analyzed for the expression of complement regulatory proteins, membrane cofactor protein (MCP), decay-acceleration factor (DAF), membrane inhibitor of reactive lysis (MIRL, CD59), and cell surface regulator of complement (Crry),...

Age-related concentrations of myelin basic protein serum factor (MBP-SF), an endogenous neuroantigen detected and quantitated by inhibition of binding of rat myelin basic protein (RMBP) antibody with 125I-RMBP reagent antigen and immunochemically indistinguishable from native RMBP in this respect, reach peak levels as high as 21 ng/microliter among 2-3-wk-old normal suckling Lewis rats. Levels ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the humoral immune response to Borna disease (BD) virus in the brain of experimentally infected Lewis rats. Abundant IgG was detected in BD-rat brain with isotype variation throughout infection. IgG was locally produced as indicated by an intact blood-brain barrier, Ig kappa light chain mRNA-containing cells in brain and accumulation of virus-specific an...

Chemokines are thought to contribute to the cellular infiltrate characteristic of renal transplant rejection. We show that Met-RANTES, a chemokine receptor antagonist, suppresses recruitment of inflammatory cells into renal allografts. In a renal transplant model (Fisher RT1(lvl) rat kidney into Lewis RT1(l) rat) where no additional immune suppressant was used, Met-RANTES-treated animals showed...

An epitope present in the 71-90 sequence of basic protein (BP) has been identified as the dominant epitope recognized by most Lewis rat encephalitogenic T cells isolated during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In the present study, we investigated the BP epitopes recognized by Lewis rat T cells in naive rats, in rats suffering from acute EAE, and in recovered rats. T cells isola...

This study was initiated to induce experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU) in Lewis rats by melanin-associated antigen (MAA; 22-kDa fragment of type I collagen alpha2 chain) derived from rat iris and ciliary body (CB), to localize MAA within the eye, and to investigate the possible mechanism of MAA generation in vivo. The EAAU model replicates idiopathic human anterior uveitis. Lewis ra...

Genetic factors influence renal disease progression, and several loci have been linked to the spontaneous development of proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in animal models. However, the role of genetic susceptibility in glomerulonephritis-induced progressive glomerulosclerosis is unknown. In a rat model of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, anti-Thy-1 glomerulonephritis (antiThy1GN), ...