Analysis of the Popliteal Lymph Node as a Biomarker to Monitor Arthritic Flare in Male versus Female Tumor Necrosis Factor-Transgenic Mice with Inflammatory Arthritis

Primary Submission Contact

Zoe Henkes

Document Type

Poster Presentation

Date

Fall 10-26-2018

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation in peripheral synovial joint tissue and is suggested to be more severe in women. The popliteal lymph node (PLN) has been found to be a biomarker of arthritic flare in the human TNF-α transgenic (TNF-Tg) mouse model of inflammatory arthritis. The goal of this study was to verify that anti-TNF therapy is equally effective in reducing the severity of arthritis in male and female TNF-Tg mice using PLN volume as a marker of arthritic flare.

Male and female TNF-Tg mice were subdivided into two groups and treated with either placebo or anti-TNF therapy for six weeks. Power-Doppler (PD) ultrasound imaging was taken of right and left PLNs in each subgroup (n=6 per subgroup). 3D reconstructions were created to determine PLN total volume, PD volume, and normalized PD volume. Knee tissue was collected at the end of treatment for histologic analysis (n=6 per subgroup).

There was a decrease in the PLN volumes in the anti-TNF treated groups compared to the placebo-treated groups for both sexes (p

Overall, increased PLN size positively correlates to joint inflammation and serves as an appropriate biomarker for arthritic flare. Furthermore, anti-TNF therapy was equally effective in decreasing arthritic severity in males and female TNF-Tg mice compared to placebo-treated mice of both sexes.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Zoe Henkes is a senior biochemistry major ('19). This work was done over the summer of 2018 through the Strong Children's Research Center Summer Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. The work was conducted in the Schwarz Lab in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research under Dr. Homaira Rahimi.

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