title: T cell responses to polypeptide fractions of Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with Lyme arthritis.
abstract: Among 6 patients with prolonged episodes of Lyme arthritis, the mean response of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to all Borrelia burgdorferi antigens (stimulation index [SI] 46) was greater than that among 5 patients with brief attacks of Lyme arthritis (SI 13; P less than 0.1), as well as that among 7 control patients with rheumatoid arthritis and among 6 normal control subjects (in both instances SI 3; P less than 0.05). In individual patients with brief episodes of Lyme arthritis, PBL had similar low levels of reactivity with the 20-kd, 31-kd, 34-kd, 41-kd, 55/58-kd, and 66-kd spirochetal polypeptides. In individual patients with prolonged arthritis, PBL usually had similar marked responsiveness to the 34-kd, 41-kd, 55/58-kd, and 66-kd polypeptides, but they had greater reactivity with the 34-kd outer surface protein B than with the 31-kd outer surface protein A (P less than 0.05). In the 2 patients tested, paired samples of synovial fluid lymphocytes and PBL had a similar pattern of reactivity, but the response was 2-100-fold greater in synovial fluid lymphocytes. We conclude that patients with prolonged Lyme arthritis have T cell responses to multiple spirochetal polypeptides.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology/Immunology, New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111.
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Yoshinari
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Steere
mesh_terms: D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments