HAPTEN-INDUCED CHRONIC COLITIS IN THE RAT - ALTERNATIVES TO TRINITROBENZENE SULFONIC-ACID

Hapten-induced colitis is a widely used model for the study of the int estinal inflammation and for the testing of novel therapies. However, the hapten utilized in this model, trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, is d ifficult to obtain in some countries. We therefore compared this hapte n to two structurally related haptens to determine if they could be su bstituted for trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid in terms of inducing chron ic colitis in the rat. Rats received one of the three haptens intracol onically, and the severity of colonic inflammation was assessed 3 and 14 days later. Dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid produced colonic inflammat ion and ulceration that was indistinguishable from that induced by tri nitrobenzene sulfonic acid at both time points. On the other hand, din itrochlorobenzene produced acute colitis (3 days postadministration), but by Day 14 this inflammation had subsided. Dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid produced comparable levels of g ranulocyte infiltration into the colon (as measured by tissue myeloper oxidase activity and histology) at both time points. These studies sug gest that for studies of up to at least 2 weeks in duration, dinitrobe nzene sulfonic acid and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid produce comparab le levels of colonic inflammation. Dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid theref ore offers a useful and less expensive alternative to trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid.