Original blots

To investigate the roles of various variablesin the induction of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) inthe outbred Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, and further characterizeits arthritic features by comprehensive examinations.Methods: The roles of different preparative techniques,inoculation routes and doses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MT) suspension as well as the sex preference in theinduction of AIA were comparatively studied using clinicalassessment. The hind paws of animals were analyzed by radiologicaland histological examinations. The serum levelsof cytokines interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6, and tumor necrosisfactor (TNF)-a were determined by ELISA.