Figure 1

Arthritis development in B10.Q mice and antibody response to CII-specific epitopes in individual mice. (a) Arthritis course during 156 days of male B10.Q mice 8 to 12 weeks old (n = 25) immunized with CII in complete Freund's adjuvant on day 0 and boosted on day 35 with CII in incomplete Freund's adjuvant, showing the arthritis score of the diseased (n = 15, open squares) and healthy (n = 10, open circles) mice. The disease course is divided into an acute phase (days 0 to 70) and a chronic phase (days 74 to 156). The incidence was 60%. Results are means ± SEM. (b) Antibody response to specific CII epitopes and arthritis development in individual B10.Q mice. The epitope specificity in mouse 6 during the course of the disease shows the immunodominance of antibodies against the epitopes U1, C1 and J1. Arthritis disease course in mouse 6 indicates the score of the individual paws. LH is the left hind paw, RH is the right hind paw, LF is the left front paw and RF is the right front paw. The epitope specificity in mouse 7 during the course of the disease shows the immunodominance of antibodies against the epitopes U1 and C1. The disease course in mouse 7 indicates the score of the individual paws during the disease course. The epitope specificity in mouse 13 during the course of the disease shows the immunodominance of U1-specific antibodies. The disease course correlates with the U1 antibody response in mouse 13. The epitope specificity in mice 14 and 15 during the course of the disease shows the immunodominance of antibodies against the epitope U1. Antibodies against the C1 epitope were detectable in mouse 14 and were detectable before the onset of the disease and also during the acute phase of arthritis in mouse 15. The disease course in mice 14 and 15 indicates the score of the individual paws during the disease course.