Skip to main content
Log in

Inflammatory responses to intradermal crystals in healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatic diseases

  • Originals
  • Published:
Rheumatology International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The inflammatory response to intradermal injections of urate, pyrophosphate and hydroxyapatite crystals in human forearm skin is described. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis responded normally to urate crystals, and patients with osteoarthritis or pyrophosphate arthropathy responded normally to hydroxyapatite and pyrophosphate crystals respectively. These results suggest that variation in host response to crystals cannot explain the different patterns of crystal-induced disease seen in man. The model, however, is recommended as a safe, simple ethical and reproducible test of inflammation in human subjects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dieppe P (1981) Crystal arthropathies and osteoarthritis. In: Watson W, Buchanan D, Carson W (eds) Recent advances in rheumatology. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  2. Agudelo CA, Weinberger A, Schumacher HR, Turner R, Molina J (1979) Definitive diagnosis of gout by identification of urate crystals in asymptomatic metatarsophalangeal joints. Arthritis Rheum 22:559–560

    Google Scholar 

  3. McCarty DJ (1976) Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease — 1975. Arthritis Rheum 19:275–285

    Google Scholar 

  4. Wallace DJ, Klinenberg JR, Morhairn D, Berlanstein B, Biren PC, Callis G (1979) Coexistent gout and rheumatoid arthritis: Case report and literature review. Arthritis Rheum 22:81–86

    Google Scholar 

  5. Steel AD, McCarty DJ (1966) An experimental model of acute inflammation in man. Arthritis Rheum 9:430–442

    Google Scholar 

  6. Buchanan WW, Klinenberg JR, Seegmiller JE (1965) The inflammatory response to injected microcrystalline monosodium urate in normal, hyperuricaemic, gouty and uremic subjects. Arthritis Rheum 8:361

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ambananelli V, Ferraccioli F, Mangarelli P, Vaona GL (1980) The effects of NSAID on monosodium urate (MSU) skin test and on other in vivo skin tests (SK/SD; PHA). Agents Actions 7 (Suppl):306–309

    Google Scholar 

  8. Dieppe PA, Doherty M, Whicher JT, Walters G (1981) The treatment of gout with azapropazone: clinical and experimental studies. Eur J Rheumatol Inflammation 4:392–400

    Google Scholar 

  9. Seegmiler JE, Howell DR, Malawista SE (1962) The inflammatory reaction to sodium urate. JAMA 180:469–477

    Google Scholar 

  10. McCarty DJ, Palmer DW, Halverson PB (1979) Clearance of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals in vivo. I. Studies using 169Yb-labelled triclinic crystals. Arthritis Rheum 22:718–727

    Google Scholar 

  11. Nancollas G (1979) The growth of crystals in solution. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 10:215–252

    Google Scholar 

  12. McCarty DJ (1964) Studies on the nature of gouty tophi by Max Freudwiler 1899. Ann Intern Med 60:486–505

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mandel NS (1980) Structural changes in sodium urate crystals on heating. Arthritis Rheum 23:772–776

    Google Scholar 

  14. Dieppe PA, Doherty M, Swan A, Hornby J, Luckman N, Jenkins R, Preece AW (1981) Changes in monosodium urate monohydrate crystals on heating or grinding. Arthritis Rheum 24:975–976

    Google Scholar 

  15. Doherty M, Dieppe PA (1981) Acute pseudogout: Crystal shedding or acute crystallisation? Arthritis Rheum 24:954–958

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dieppe, P.A., Doherty, M. & Papadimitriou, G.M. Inflammatory responses to intradermal crystals in healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatic diseases. Rheumatol Int 2, 55–58 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541246

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541246

Key words

Navigation