Differential gene expression in the knee of DBA/1 mice with spontaneous arthritis (SpAD) compared to healthy BALB/c mice

The DBA/1 mouse strain produces spontaneous arthritis (SpAD) characterized by an inflammatory process and changes in the joint structures that resemble human spondyloarthritis. Normally, it is the hind paws that are analyzed in this model and information on the alterations in the knee is very scarce. Transcriptome analysis was performed using DNA microarrays of knees of DBA/1 strain mice with spontaneous arthritis (SpAD) and BALB/c strain mice as a control. The spontaneous arthritis (SpAD) model was generated in DBA/1 mouse strain as described for the model. After sacrifice, the knees of diseased mice and healthy BALB/c mice were dissected. Total RNA was extracted from the knees and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays.