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

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.