Oil-induced arthritis in DA rats passive transfer by T cells but not with serum

Passive transfer experiments were performed to investigate the role of immune cells and sera in the development of oil-induced arthritis (OIA) in DA rats. Con A-stimulated lymph node cells (LNC) obtained from animals previously injected with Freund's incomplete adjuvant (FIA) caused arthritis in irradiated recipients after intravenous administration. Also, enriched T-cell populations from these Con A-activated cells were able to transfer arthritis. Neither Con A-activated LNC from control rats (non-FIA-injected animals) nor sera from OIA animals were able to transfer arthritis. The passively transferred arthritis was evident clinically as well as histologically and the arthritic lesions were similar in many respects to those noted in the active OIA. The results thus provide strong evidence for an immunological etiology of oil-induced arthritis, and also suggest that autoreactive T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.