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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

An Adoptive Transfer Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Mice
Published on: June 6, 2025
High avidity autoreactive T cells with a low signalling capacity through the T-cell receptor: central to rheumatoid
Ranjeny Thomas1, Malcolm Turner, Andrew P Cope
1Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4102, Australia. r.thomas1@uq.edu.au
Abstract:
Self-reactive T cells with low signalling capacity through the T-cell receptor were recently observed in the SKG mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and have been linked to a spontaneous mutation in the ZAP-70 signal transduction molecule. Here we hypothesize that similar mechanisms also drive RA, associated with an abnormal innate and adaptive immune response driven by nuclear factor-kappaB activation and tumour necrosis factor secretion. Similar to the essential role played by pathogens in SKG mice, we propose that HLA-associated immunity to chronic viral infection is a key factor in the immune dysregulation and joint inflammation that characterize RA.
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