BACKGROUND Fibrosis is the process of excessive deposition of collagen and other extra cellular matrix components and large amounts of these components have been shown in periovular schistosomal granulomas, especially in the liver. Laminin and type IV collagen have been investigated in various hepatic disorders but their accuracy in fibrosis detection and in the evaluation of its progression in...

To investigate the role of HLA-DR4 in predisposition to arthritis, we generated transgenic mice carrying DRB1*0401 and DRB1*0402 genes. We have previously shown that DRB1*0401 molecule renders B10.RQB3 (H2A(q)) mice susceptible to porcine and human type II collagen-induced arthritis. We report that the introduction of DRB1*0402 transgene does not lead to development of arthritis in mice when th...

The effects of steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the established lesion of type II collagen induced arthritis in rats were evaluated by measuring the hind paw oedema and anti-type II collagen antibody titre. Dexamethasone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, reduced the anti-type II collagen antibody titre and markedly suppressed the established lesion of type II collagen i...

OBJECTIVE Biochemical analysis indicates the presence of collagen type I in fibrocartilaginous tissue of osteoarthritic cartilage, whereas normal hyaline cartilage contains only collagen type II produced by normal chondrocytes. Fibrocartilaginous tissue of late-stage osteoarthritis also exhibits irregularly shaped type 2b secretory chondrocytes as described in the literature. We have attempted ...

Using immunocytochemical techniques, the spatiotemporal distribution of the major collagen isoform of cartilage, type II collagen, has been investigated during early craniofacial development in the mouse embryo. Early and transient expression was associated with the otic and optic vesicles, the ventrolateral surfaces of the developing brain, olfactory conchi, endocardial and mesocardial tissues...

The distribution and sequence of appearance of fibronectin and of type-I and type-II collagen in the developing cartilage models of embryonic chick hind-limb buds was studied by immunofluorescence, using specific antibodies directed against these proteins. Fibronectin and type-I collagen are evenly distributed throughout the intercellular space of the mesenchyme prior to condensation of core me...

We have previously reported the isolation of a hydrophobic, type-II collagen-binding glycoprotein of molecular weight 31,000 (31,000-mol-wt protein) from chick chondrocyte membranes (Mollenhauer, J., and K. von der Mark, EMBO Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ. J., 2:45-50). The function of this protein in anchoring pericellular type II collagen to the chondrocyte surface was inferred from its ability to bi...

Monoclonal and conventional antibodies against collagen types I and II were used for immunofluorescence and immuno-electron microscopic studies of developing chick corneas (5-day-old embryos to adult) and embryonic limb cartilages. Secondary antibodies were labeled with rhodamine or ferritin. We found that the 5-day primary corneal stroma stains uniformly at the light microscope level with both...

Oxidation of proteins is a common phenomenon in the inflammatory process mediated by highly reactive agents such as hypochlorite (HOCl/OCl(-)) produced by activated neutrophils. For instance, in rheumatoid arthritis hypochlorite plays an important role in joint destruction. One of the major targets for HOCl/OCl(-) is collagen type II (CII) - the primary cartilage protein. In our study, HOCl/OCl...