An altered repertoire of T cell receptor V gene expression by rheumatoid synovial fluid T lymphocytes

• Published in: Clinical and experimental immunology 1992-12, Vol.90 (3), p.440-446
• Main Authors: LUNARDI, C., MARGUERIE, C., SO, A. K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arthritis, Rheumatoid - blood; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - genetics; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Female; Gene Amplification; Gene Expression - physiology; Humans; Inflammatory joint diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - genetics; Reproducibility of Results; rheumatoid arthritis; Synovial Fluid - cytology; T cell receptor; T-Lymphocytes - physiology; V gene usage
• ISSN: 0009-9104; 1365-2249
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1992.tb05865.x

SUMMARY The pattern of T cell receptor V gene expression by lymphocytes from rheumatoid synovial fluid and paired peripheral blood samples was compared using a polymerasc chain reaction (PCR)‐based assay. Eight rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who had varying durations of disease (from 2 to 20 years) were studied. In all patients there was evidence of a different pattern of V gene expression between the two compartments. Significantly increased expression of at least one Vα or Vβ gene family by synovial fluid T cells was observed in all the patients studied. Three different Vα (Vα 10, 15 and 18) and three Vβ (Vβ 4, 5 and 13) families were commonly elevated. Sequencing of synovial Vβ transcripts demonstrated that the basis of increased expression of selected V gene families in the synovial fluid was due to the presence of dominant clonotypes within those families, which constituted up to 53% of the sequences isolated from one particular synovial V gene family. There were considerable differences in the NDJ sequences found in synovial and peripheral blood T cell receptor (TCR) transcripts of the same Vα gene family. These data suggest that the TCR repertoire in the two compartments differs, and that antigen‐driven expansion of particular synovial T cell populations is a component of rheumatoid synovitis, and is present in all stages of the disease.