Although there have been major advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with the advent of biological agents, the mechanisms that drive cytokine production and sustain disease chronicity remain unknown. Tenascin-C (encoded by Tnc) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein specifically expressed at areas of inflammation and tissue damage in inflamed rheumatoid joints. Here we show that mice that do not express tenascin-C show rapid resolution of acute joint inflammation and are protected from erosive arthritis. Intra-articular injection of tenascin-C promotes joint inflammation in vivo in mice, and addition of exogenous tenascin-C induces cytokine synthesis in explant cultures from inflamed synovia of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, in human macrophages and fibroblasts from synovia of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, tenascin-C induces synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines via activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Thus, we have identified tenascin-C as a novel endogenous activator of TLR4-mediated immunity that mediates persistent synovial inflammation and tissue destruction in arthritic joint disease.

Collagen-induced arthritis is a well-validated, but strain-dependent mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis, with H-2(q) and H-2(r) strains showing the greatest degree of susceptibility. This protocol describes the induction of arthritis in the C57BL/6 strain (H-2(b)), which forms the genetic background of the majority of genetically modified strains. This protocol involves purification of type II collagen from chicken sternums, immunization of mice, clinical assessment of arthritis and analysis of T- and B-cell responses to type II collagen. Key aspects of the protocol are the need to use chicken collagen for immunization and the importance of avoiding aggressive behavior in males. The incidence of arthritis varies from 50 to 80% and is milder than the classical collagen-induced arthritis model. This procedure takes approximately 3 months to complete.

Objective. We have previously identified in articular cartilage an abundant pool of the heparin-binding growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), which is bound to the pericellular matrix heparan sulfate proteoglycan, perlecan. This pool of FGF-2 activates chondrocytes upon tissue loading and is released following mechanical injury. In vitro, FGF-2 suppresses interleukin-1-driven aggrecanase activity in human cartilage explants, suggesting a chondroprotective role in vivo. We undertook this study to investigate the in vivo role of FGF-2 in murine cartilage.Methods. Basal characteristics of the articular cartilage of Fgf2 -/-and Fgf2 ؉/؉ mice were determined by histomorphometry, nanoindentation, and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The articular cartilage was graded histologically in aged mice as well as in mice in which osteoarthritis (OA) had been induced by surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus. RNA was extracted from the joints of Fgf2 -/-and Fgf2 ؉/؉ mice following surgery and quantitatively assessed for key regulatory molecules. The effect of subcutaneous administration of recombinant FGF-2 on OA progression was assessed in Fgf2 -/-mice.Results. Fgf2 -/-mice were morphologically indistinguishable from wild-type (WT) animals up to age 12 weeks; the cartilage thickness and proteoglycan staining were equivalent, as was the mechanical integrity of the matrix. However, Fgf2 -/-mice exhibited accelerated spontaneous and surgically induced OA. Surgically induced OA in Fgf2 -/-mice was suppressed to levels in WT mice by subcutaneous administration of recombinant FGF-2. Increased disease in Fgf2 -/-mice was associated with increased expression of messenger RNA of Adamts5, the key murine aggrecanase. Conclusion. These data identify FGF-2 as a novel endogenous chondroprotective agent in articular cartilage.The structural integrity of articular cartilage is determined principally by homeostasis of the 2 major macromolecules of the extracellular matrix, type II collagen and the chondroitin sulfate-rich proteoglycan aggrecan. In healthy tissue, there is a balance between anabolic (synthetic) and catabolic (degradative) processes that allows matrix turnover. Excessive catabolic activity results in matrix breakdown, a hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA). One key early event in matrix breakdown is loss of aggrecan, which is caused by aggrecanase enzymes, members of the ADAMTS family. In humans, ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 are thought to be the major aggrecanases in cartilage (1,2). In the mouse, deletion of ADAMTS-5, but not ADAMTS-4, was shown to protect against the development of OA and inflammatory arthritis, suggesting that ADAMTS-5 is the main murine aggrecanase (3,4).We have identified fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) as a potential regulatory molecule in articular cartilage. It is bound to the heparan sulfate chains of the proteoglycan perlecan in the pericellular matrix of hu-

Objective. There is a disparity in the animal models used to study pain in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which tends to be acute in nature, and models used to assess the pathogenesis of RA. The latter models, like human RA, are lymphocyte-driven and polyarthritic. We assessed pain behavior and mechanisms in collageninduced arthritis (CIA), the model of preclinical arthritis used most commonly in the field of immunology. We then validated the model using anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, which has analgesic effects in models of inflammation as well as in human RA.Methods. CIA was induced in DBA/1 mice by immunization with type II collagen at the base of the tail. Swelling and mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia were assessed before and for 28 days after the onset of arthritis. Spontaneous behavior was assessed using an automated activity monitor. Glial activity was assessed by glial fibrillary acidic protein expression, and nerve damage was evaluated by activating transcription factor 3 expression. The actions of anti-TNF therapy on nociception were then evaluated.Results. Arthritis resulted in a decrease in the threshold for thermal and mechanical stimuli, beginning on the day of onset. Decreased spontaneous activity was also observed. A significant increase in the number of hyperplasic spinal cord astrocytes was observed beginning 10 days after the onset of arthritis. Anti-TNF therapy was profoundly analgesic, with an efficacy similar to that of cyclooxygenase 2 inhibition, and reduced astrocyte activity in CIA.Conclusion. This study shows that the CIA model is suitable for testing not only antiinflammatory but also analgesic drugs for potential use in RA, and highlights the importance of using appropriate disease models to assess relevant pain pathways.

IL-17 is implicated in the pathogenesis