Female dark agouti rats

Female Dark-Agouti rats (8–10 weeks of age) were purchased from Janvier (France). Five animals were housed in one cage, and they had ad-libitum access to standard chow and water. Animals were acclimated to the environment for at least 1 week before commencement of experiments. Arthritis was induced on day 0 by a single injection of 300 μg bovine type II collagen at the base of the tail (mdbioproducts, Egg bei Zurich, Switzerland) emulsified in an equal volume of incomplete Freund adjuvant (Sigma Aldrich, Deisenhofen, Germany) intradermally at the base of the tail as described previously^{25 (link)}. Rats were inspected for clinical symptoms and weight on a daily basis. The Government of the Oberpfalz approved all experiments according to institutional and governmental regulations for animal use (Az. 54-2532.1-25/13, Az. 55.2-2532-2-413).

Female Dark Agouti rats were purchased from Janvier Labs (Le Genest St. Isle, France) at the age of 9 weeks. Rats were housed at 4 or 6 animals per cage and were allowed to adapt to animal laboratory conditions for one week. Rats were fed standard laboratory chow and water ad libitum and were kept under standard housing conditions in a 12h light-dark cycle. All animal experiments were approved by and conducted according to institutional and governmental regulations for experimental animal usage (Ethical Review Committee, Government of the Oberpfalz Az. 54–2532.1-25/13).

Female Dark Agouti rats were purchased from Janvier Labs (Le Genest St. Isle, France) at the age of 9 weeks. Animals were housed at four or six animals per cage and were allowed to adapt to animal laboratory conditions for 1 week. Rats were fed standard laboratory chow and water ad libitum and were kept under standard housing conditions in a 12 h light-dark cycle.