Induction of vascular smooth muscle bradykinin B₁ receptors in vivo during antigen arthritis

Antigen arthritis in rabbits was associated with induction of bradykinin B₁ receptors in isolated aorta smooth muscle 24 h following intra-articular injection of antigen in sensitized animals. Control tissues developed responsiveness to desArg⁹-bradykinin or bradykinin during 3 h incubation, but failed to respond to either kinin at the beginning of experiments. Aorta from rabbits 24 h after induction of arthritis not only developed responsiveness to kinins more rapidly than controls, but also responded at the outset of experiments. Antigen arthritis was characterized by acute phase protein synthesis and joint swelling. This is the first demonstration of induction of smooth muscle responsiveness to desArg⁹-bradykinin during an immune complex disease.