HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Abnormal collagen deposition in synovia after collagen type V immunization in rabbits

Luciana Tsuzuki Ichicawa Ogido1, Walcy Rosolia Teodoro1, Ana Paula Pereira Velosa1, Cristiane Carla de Oliveira1, Edwin Roger Parra2, Vera Luiza Capelozzi2 and Natalino Hajime Yoshinari1

1Discipline of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo and 2Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Offprint requests to: Walcy Rosolia Teodoro, PhD, Discipline of Rheumatology, São Paulo Medical School – University of São Paulo, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 455, CEP –01246-903, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. e-mail: matrix@lim17.fm.usp.br and vcapelozzi@lim05.fm.usp.br


Summary. Sinovitis in Scleroderma (SSc) is rare, usually aggressive and fully resembles rheumatoid arthritis. Experimental models of SSc have been used in an attempt to understand its pathogenesis. Previous studies done in our laboratory had already revealed the presence of a synovial remodeling process in rabbits immunized with collagen V. To validate the importance of collagen type V and to explore the quantitative relationship between this factor and synovia remodeling as well as the relationship between collagen type V and other collagens, we studied the synovial tissue in immunized rabbits. Rabbits (N=10) were immunized with collagen V plus Freund’s adjuvant and compared with animals inoculated with adjuvant only (N=10). Synovial tissues were submitted to histological analysis, immunolocalization to collagen I, III and V and biochemical analysis by eletrophoresis, immunoblot and densitometric method. The synovial tissue presented an intense remodeling process with deposits of collagen types I, III and V after 75 and 120 days of immunization, mainly distributed around the vessels and interstitium of synovial extracellular matrix. Densitometric analysis confirmed the increased synthesis of collagen I, III and V chains (407.69±80.31; 24.46±2.58; 70.51±7.66, respectively) in immunized rabbits when compared with animals from control group (164.91±15.67; 12.89±1.05; 32±3.57) (p<0.0001). We conclude that synovial remodeling observed in the experimental model can reflect the articular compromise present in patients with scleroderma. Certainly, this experimental model induced by collagen V immunization will bring new insights in to pathogenic mechanisms and allow the testing of new therapeutic strategies to ameliorate the prognosis for scleroderma patients. Histol Histopathol 23, 263-269 (2008)

Key words: Synovia, Collagen type V, Experimental model, Scleroderma, Fibrosis

DOI: 10.14670/HH-23.263