IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis: IL-6 gene deficiency and blockade of IL-6 activity also reduced severity of arthritis in other mouse models of RA, such as antigen-induced arthritis (AIA), an immune complex model of RA, and SKG mice which spontaneously develop autoimmune arthritis with ageing due to a spontaneous mutation in the zeta-chain-associated protein kinase-70 (ZAP-70) gene [53–57].