Fibrinogen-reactive T cells transfer disease to naïve mice

Splenocytes harvested from mice with FIA were cultured in vitro and stimulated with 0.01 mg/ml fibrinogen for 3 days. Enriched T cells were transferred into 6-week-old naïve SJL mice, which developed visible signs of arthritis within 2 weeks. Synovial array profiling of plasma from the arthritic recipient mice demonstrated autoreactive B cell responses against peptides representing native fibrinogen, and further spreading of the responses to target collagen type V, cartilage gp39, and citrullinated vimentin. Custom-spotted protein slides were with plasma samples from individual mice. Four slides were probed with plasma derived from naïve mice and five slides were probed with plasma derived from mice injected with FIA T cells.