Abstract
Treatment with a monoclonal antibody (R 73 mAb) against the T cell antigen receptor αβ (TCR αβ) suppressed markedly both induction and progression of adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rats. The mAb was also effective in preventing development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) . However, established CIA was not affected by R 73, although early CIA was partially suppressed by this antibody. The delayed type hypersensitivity response to arthritogenic antigens was suppressed in R 73-treated rats with AA and CIA and this was associated with marked depletion of αβ+ T cells in peripheral blood.
Thus, AA appears to be αβ+ T cell-dependent in its induction and progression. αβ+ T cells appear to have a critical role in induction of CIA, but do not in progression of established CIA. Treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with anti-human TCR αβ mAbs may reveal subtypes of this disease with varying dependence on T cell action.
