We tried to make an experimental arthritis by means of intra-articular injection of type II collagen derived from human, bovine and pig cartilage. Fourty-eight rabbits with a weight of 2.5-3.0kg, immunized with human, bovine or pig type II collagen, received 1 intra-articular injection of the same antigen in the right knee and PBS or 0.1M acetic acid in the left knee.
The grading of the inflammation was examined by clinical and histological investigations. Histological investigations of synovial membrane of joints showed distinct signs of chronic synovitis, such as hypertrophy and hyperplasia of synovial lining cells infiltration of mononuclear cells.
In another experiment, a group of rabbits was immunized with bovine type II collagen and had a subsequent intraarticular injection of pig type II collagen in the left knee. These animals showed mild inflammatory reactions, in the left knees. It was suggested that there was a cross reactivity between pig and bovine type II collagen.
