Leporine Experimental Arthritis Induced by Whole Synovial Fluid from Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

Abstract

The value of experimental arthritis models in animals depends on their morphological and immunological  similarities to rheumatoid arthritis even if they are not exact counterparts of the human diseases. Many  uncertainties regarding rheumatoid arthritis pathogenetic mechanisms persist, including unknown factors  and the liberation of arthritogenic antigens. The purpose of the study was to compare experimental arthritis  in rabbits induced by intra-articular injections of whole synovial fluid obtained from patients with active  rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, which followed sensitization with synovial fluid in complete  Freund’s adjuvant. The results showed that rheumatoid synovial fluid-induced arthritis is very reproducible  and strikingly similar to the rheumatoid arthritis where the arthritis exacerbations and immunological  processes occur all the way from cellular immunity to persistent chronic arthritis.