Prolonged ingestion of ovalbumin diet by Ova sensitized mice suppresses mBSA-induced arthritis

•Continuous Ova feeding by immunized mice decreased serum anti-Ova IgE levels.•The same treatment suppressed signs associated with experimental arthritis.•Our work presents a model to study oral tolerance in previous immunized mice.•Our results can be useful for studies in oral immunotherapy for food allergy.•Our work can be useful for studies in new therapies for rheumatoid arthritis. Concomitant chronic diseases are a common finding in clinics and may consist in a major issue in therapeutics. Here, we investigated whether prolonged ingestion of ovalbumin (Ova) by sensitized mice would reduce the severity of an associated concurrent immunomediated condition such as antigen-induced arthritis (AIA). AIA was induced by administration of methylated bovine albumin (mBSA) into the knee joints of previously immunized mice, and evaluated by articular leukocyte trafficking and levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β) and chemokine (CXCL-1) in the periarticular tissue. Continuous Ova feeding by Ova sensitized mice decreased serum levels of anti-Ova IgE, and led to a significant suppression of leukocyte adhesion and infiltration into synovial tissue and cavity. Also, a marked cytokine reduction was observed, suggesting that prolonged ingestion of ovalbumin by sensitized mice suppresses specific IgE production with concomitant reduction in peripheral T cells, which may impact in the pathogenesis of AIA, a non-related condition.