MHC class II alleles associated with Th1 rather than Th17 type immunity drive the onset of early arthritis in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis.

ABSTRACT: Polymorphisms in the MHC class II (MHCII) genes are strongly associated with rheumatoid arthritis, supporting the importance of autoreactive T helper (Th) cells for the development of this disease. Here, we used pristane-induced arthritis (PIA), induced by the non-antigenic hydrocarbon pristane, to study the impact of different MHCII alleles on T-cell activation and differentiation. In MHCII-congenic rats with disease-promoting MHCII alleles, pristane primarily induced activation of Th1 cells, whereas activated T cells were Th17 biased in rats with protective MHCII alleles. Neutralization of IFN-γ during T-cell activation abrogated the development of disease, suggesting that Th1 immunity is important for disease induction. Neutralization of IL-17, by contrast, suppressed arthritis only whe

SUBMITTER: Tuncel J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7163699 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature