Evaluation of the cholesterol influence in type II collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/U mice: an autoradiographic study

In order to verify the cholesterol influence in RA severity in DBA/1J mice, we quantified the cholesterol present in the knee joints of normal (N) and with collagen 11 induced arthritis (CIA). Forty male DBA/1J mice, were divided in normal (n=20) and CIA group (n=20). Mice in CIA group were injected with 100 mug of collagen 11 emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant. Sixteen DBA/1J (8 N and 8 CIA) received an injection of 2.96 x 10(6) Bq of H-3-cholesterol and were anesthetized and sacrificed. Semi-fine sections were covered with LM-1 emulsion, exposed for six weeks and developed. Collagen induced edema, erythema and dysfunction of knee joints in CIA group. Radioactive cholesterol was located more on the synovial membrane, where we found the greatest density of silver grains, significantly (P<0.0001) higher in group CIA vs. controls (61+/-2.3 X 18+/-0.7). We conclude that the cholesterol deposits on the synovial membrane is related to CIA severity.