Inhibition of collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1 mice by treatment with BSSL neutralizing antibodies.

Seventy-five DBA/1 female mice were immunized with chick CII in CFA on day 0 and boosted with CII in IFA at day 21. Mice were randomized to one of five groups of 15 animals each, which, beginning on day 20, were treated every fourth day until day 44 with one of the following: 0.1 mg CDV15 antibody, 0.2 mg CDV15 antibody, 0.1 mg normal rabbit IgG, 0.2 mg normal rabbit IgG, or PBS (placebo control). Arthritis development and severity was followed by clinical scoring 2–3 times per week for 50 days after initial CII injection. (A) Mean score of arthritis severity and (B) cumulative incidence of arthritis (percentage of affected mice with clinical score≥1) are shown. (C) At the time of discontinuation (day 50) the concentration of mouse anti-rabbit IgG was determined in plasma collected from all animals. Error bars indicate ± SEM. For clarity, error bars were omitted in (A). ^??? = p<0.05; ^??? = p<0.01.