The semi-quantitative scoring system recommended here is simple to apply and required no specialized equipment. Scoring of the tibial plateaus was highly reproducible and more consistent than that of the femur due to the much thinner femoral cartilage. This scoring system may be a useful tool for both new and experienced scorers to sensitively evaluate models and OA mechanisms, and also provide a common paradigm for comparative evaluation across the many groups performing these analyses.

Objective. Modification of antigens represents a trigger for the generation of autoantibodies. In the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), citrullination of proteins has been shown to be a critical process, and the determination of antibodies against citrullinated antigens has been a diagnostic milestone. We undertook this study to determine whether antibodies to mutated and citrullinated vimentin (MCV) could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for RA.Methods. We identified novel isoforms of human MCV in the synovial fluid of RA patients. The significance of these disease-related modifications was investigated by the analysis of autoantibody reactivities. In a group of 1,151 RA patients, the diagnostic significance and the prognostic value of an anti-MCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were compared with that of an anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) ELISA.Results. In RA, sensitivities of 82% and 72% were calculated for the anti-MCV and anti-CCP assays, respectively. The specificity of both assays was comparable (98% and 96%, respectively). In followup analyses of 16 RA patients with moderate disease activity (mean Disease Activity Score in 28 joints [DAS28] of 2.72) and 26 RA patients with active disease (mean DAS28 of 5.07), disease stratification of RA was possible using the anti-MCV assay (P ‫؍‬ 0.0084). A significant correlation of anti-MCV antibodies with the DAS28 was documented (r ‫؍‬ 0.5334, P ‫؍‬ 0.0003), in 42 RA patients (n ‫؍‬ 427 antibody determinations at different time points).

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We studied the presence of bacterial antigens in rat tissues.We produced a monoclonal antibody (MAb 2E9) directed against intestinat flora-derived peptidoglycan-polpaharide complexes from human and rat feces. With several immunological techniques, the specificity of 2E9 for this bacterial product was demonstrated. Using 2E9 in an immunohistological assay, we were able to show the presence of bacterial products in macrophages in the red pulp of spleens of conventional Lewis rats. However, we found no correlation between the development of the intestinal flora and positive spleen staining with MAb 2E9. The results were confirmed

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is an essential anabolic growth factor in the regulation of cartilage metabolism and exerts its effects by binding to the IGF-1 Type 1 receptor on the chondrocyte membrane. We have localized and quantified in situ IGF-1 receptor expression in intact articular cartilage of normal mice. The IGF-1 receptor was detected immunohistochemically with antibodies to the IGF-1 receptor and visualized with conventional light microscopy and confocal laser scanning miaoscopy (CLSM). CLSM analysis enabled us to distinguish IGF-1 receptor immunoreactivity on the chondrocyte cell membrane from intracellular staining. We have established two approaches to quantitir in confocal images low levels of fluorescence intensity of the immuno-