SUMMARY Vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1 or CD106) is important in leucocyte trafficking and its increased expression is associated with a number of chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We used a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (M/K‐2·7) to investigate the role of VCAM‐1 in collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA), an autoimmune model of RA. A single injection of M/K‐2·7 (0·5 mg) into naive mice caused leucocytosis within 20 h, due to increased numbers of circulating B cells and macrophages, as well as neutrophils. The most marked effect was on the numbers of immature B cells (B220loIgM+) which were increased approximately fourfold. CIA was elicited in DBA/1 mice by immunization with chick type II collagen (CII) in Freund’s complete adjuvant, followed by a repeat injection 21 days later. Repeated M/K‐2·7 administration from the time of primary CII immunization reduced the clinical severity, but not the incidence, of CIA compared to isotype‐control monoclonal antibody‐treated mice. Histological assessment showed fewer arthritic joints in M/K‐2·7‐treated mice; however, affected joints showed the same range of severity as those of control mice. Anti‐CII IgG1 levels were reduced in anti‐VCAM‐1‐treated mice but the cellular immune response to CII was unaffected. In contrast, VCAM‐1 blockade from the onset of clinical features of CIA did not prevent disease progression. These results establish a role for VCAM‐1 in promoting polyarticular involvement in CIA, most probably via an effect on B cells.
In Western Nigeria samples of serum or plasma are often bright yellow and yet have normal levels of bilirubin. In a pilot experiment in 1959 we found that unusually high levels of total carotenoids were present in several samples of yellow serums. Edozien I n the investigation here reported the observations of the pilot experiment were expanded by a study of the relation between the total carotenoid levels of the serums and their yellowness as measured by the icteric index. The values for serum total carotenoids in healthy Nigerian soldiers obtained during this study form a useful addition to Edozien's (1960) figures, as they refer to a different city (Lagos) and have been obtained for a group of soldiers living on a diet rather better than the regional average. At the same time the vitamin A levels were studied, and in a few individuals it was also possible to measure a-tocopherol levels, for which no data are as yet available from this city. A survey of the diet was made to discover what sources of carotenoids were present and to assess its adequacy. The carotene content of a local sample of palm oil was also measured.Our findings confirmed that the total carotenoid levels in serum were above European levels, often by a considerable amount, and correlated well with the yellowness of the serums, provided that the bilirubin was not abnormally elevated. Vitamin A levels were found to be towards the upper limits of the accepted range of normal values, and a-tocopherol was within or slightly below the normal range.
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