Figure 1.

Inhibition of collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1 mice by treatment with AMD3100. Mice were immunized on day 0 with collagen type II in complete Freund's adjuvant and were observed for symptoms of arthritis. On day 27, when the first symptoms of arthritis appeared, the mice were divided into two groups in a way that a similar incidence and a similar average clinical score was reached in both groups. On this day, mice of one group were implanted with osmotic minipumps, delivering AMD3100 for two weeks at a constant rate of 600 μg/day. Mice of the other group were implanted with pumps containing PBS. The (a) cumulative incidence and (b) mean arthritic score ± standard error of the mean (SEM) for AMD3100-treated and control-treated mice are shown. Average group scores of arthritis were significantly different from day 30 onwards (p ≤ 0.05 on day 30; p ≤ 0.01 from day 31 till the end of the experiment, Mann-Whitney U test). (c) Evaluation of disease progression in mice with established arthritis at initiation of treatment with AMD3100. Circles represent percentage increase in scores of arthritis for individual mice at the end of the treatment. Data show the results of three individual experiments (explained in more detail in the legend of Table 1). (d-f) Histological analysis of the joints. On the last day of treatment, five mice out of both groups with a mean score representing the average group score, were selected and sacrificed. Paraffin sections of the fore and hind limbs were haematoxylin stained and histological examination was performed. Representative pictures are shown. (d) Joint of an AMD3100-treated mouse without clinical symptoms showing normal histological appearance. (e) Joints of arthritic AMD3100-treated mice show a weak infiltration of mono- and polymorphonuclear cells and hyperplasia of the synovium. (f) Joint section of a PBS-treated mouse, showing moderate to severe infiltration of leukocytes, hyperplasia and bone destruction.