ABSTRACT
Type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is an experimental disease induced in rats and mice by intradermal injection of native type II collagen, the major component of hyaline cartilage. Since anti-IL-2R antibodies had been shown to be effective in suppressing the alloreactive cells involved in graft rejection, the use of anti-IL-2R antibodies in suppressing autoreactive cells in autoimmune diseases. This chapter investigates whether anti-IL-2R antibodies could, in fact, suppress CIA by targeting pathogenic type II collagen-reactive cells. Although anti-IL-2R antibodies have proven to be effective in the suppression of allograft rejection and autoimmune diseases, they have a few drawbacks. Since the IL-2R described so far are nonpolymorphic in a species, anti-IL-2R antibodies must be generated across species. The unique expression of a high-affinity form of IL-2R only on activated T cells but not on resting or memory cells has allowed a more selective and specific form of immunotherapy.
