Increased plasma level of T-kininogen in rats treated with Freund's adjuvant

Studies have been carried out to clarify which component of plasma kininogen in rats increased in the inflammatory condition induced by an injection of Freund's complete adjuvant. Plasma T-kininogen, which was measured by assaying the amount of T-kinin liberated by trypsin treatment, remarkably increased in parallel with the severity of paw swelling following the intradermal injection of adjuvant into the rat hindpaw. Treatment with indomethacin or dexamethasone following an injection of adjuvant suppressed the increase in T-kininogen level as well as the development of paw swelling in rats. These results indicate that T-kininogen, the newly found precursor of T-kinin, is the main component of plasma kininogen which responds to the inflammatory stimulus in adjuvant arthritis.