Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) to type II collagen (CII) in DBA-1 mice

Sensitization of DBA-1 mice with Type II collagen (CII) in complete Freund's adjuvant can cause polyarthritis. A possible link between CII-induced arthritis and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) has been suggested, so we decided to investigate the susceptibility of DBA-1 mice to CII induced DTH reactions. The mice were primed with a dose of 10 micrograms CII i.p. 4 days before challenging with 40 micrograms CII in the ear. Swelling was measured 48 h later and was found to be reproducible. Responsiveness to CII could be transferred with whole spleen cell populations from primed animals or with enriched spleen T cells, thus confirming the cellular nature of the reaction. Lymph node cells from CII/CFA footpad immunized animals were restimulated with CII in vitro. These cells were able to passively transfer DTH sensitivity in vivo and exhibited specificity for this antigen in vitro in proliferation assays.