ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the data from the authors’ studies with retinoids in adjuvant-induced arthritis and compares with data, collected in other laboratories, regarding the activity of retinoids in collagen- and streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis. It discusses the status of studies to explore possible mechanisms of action of the antiinflammatory retinoids in adjuvant-induced arthritis and includes a discussion of clinical data relating to the antirheumatic activity of retinoids. Adjuvant-induced arthritis, a widely studied model of arthritis, can be induced by the injection of complete Freund's adjuvant into a hind foot pad of susceptible rats. Collagen arthritis is induced in the rat following immunization with type II collagen in Freund's incomplete adjuvant. The mechanisms by which retinoids exert their antiinflammatory effects in the developing and established models of adjuvant- and streptococcal cell wall-induced arthritis are not understood. There are a number of mechanisms by which 13-cis-retinoic acid might suppress the development of passively transferred adjuvant-induced arthritis.
