| Abstract: | Objective. To identify the T lymphocytes that mediate disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. A panel of monoclonal antibodies reactive with T cell receptor (TCR) Vβ gene products was used to analyze the RA T cell repertoire. Results. Of 5 TCR Vβ gene products studied, only Vβ17-positive T cells were increased in peripheral blood and synovial fluid (SF) from RA patients, compared with controls (P < 0.01 and P = 0.0006, respectively). Thirty-one percent of the 49 RA SF samples and none of the 19 non-RA SF samples contained >10% Vβ17-positive T cells. Activated (Tac-positive) T cells were enriched among Vβ17-positive synovial T cells. Conclusion. The selective increase of Vβ17-positive T cells suggests a role for those T cells in the pathogenesis of RA. |
