Biased T cell receptor V alpha region repertoire in the synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Synovial T lymphocytes seem to contribute to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Since very little is known about the structural heterogeneity of their T cell antigen receptors (TcR), we analyzed TcR alpha chain mRNA of synovial fluid T cells from two RA patients. TcR alpha chain cDNA was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction with single-sided specificity for the alpha chain constant (C alpha) gene segment, and the nucleotide sequences of 51 functionally rearranged cDNA clones were determined. Twenty different V alpha genes and 26 different J alpha gene segments were utilized in these cDNA clones. Three of the V alpha gene segments which are frequently (8%-17% total) expressed in synovial fluid T cells have rarely been found in the TcR repertoire of peripheral blood T cells from healthy individuals. The T cell responses in the rheumatic synovia analyzed here are not oligoclonal, but the usage of TcR V alpha genes is biased.
Pluschke
G
G
Klinische Forschergruppe für Rheumatologie, Universitätsklinikums Freiburg, FRG.
Ricken
G
G
Taube
H
H
Kroninger
S
S
Melchers
I
I
Peter
H H
HH
Eichmann
K
K
Krawinkel
U
U
D000916:Antibody Diversity; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D015332:Gene Rearrangement, alpha-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D005796:Genes; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000276:immunology
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D004247:DNA