Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints, leading to synovitis that develops into cartilage and bone erosion.  Axis Bio offers the CIA, CAIA and AIA models to test the efficacy of compounds to treat RA.

  • Collagen-Induced Arthritis (CIA) model: The industry-standard animal model for evaluation of anti-arthritic activity. This model can be carried out in mice or rats and involves immunization of animals (from susceptible strains) with bovine collagen (obtained from Chondrex, Inc.) to develop antibodies against bone and cartilage.  Read-out is Arthritic Index, paw thickness and animal bodyweight.
  • Collagen Antibody-Induced Arthritis (CAIA) model: For this model a cocktail of arthritogenic monoclonal antibodies (obtained from Chondrex Inc.) directed against type II collagen is used, allowing any strain of mouse to be used.  This is a faster model than the CIA model and is therefore more cost-effective. Read-out is Arthritic Index, paw thickness and animal bodyweight.
  • Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic (AIA) model: This is a reliable but less well-used or characterised model than CIA. This model is carried out in susceptible rat strains (SD or Wistar) and involves immunization with Complete Freud’s Adjuvant (obtained from Chondrex Inc.). Read-out is Arthritic Index, paw thickness and animal bodyweight.

For all RA models we can advise on flexible study designs with optional post-study analyses including histopathology and cytokine quantification. 

 

Contact us today for help designing your anti-arthritic studies.