title: Soluble interleukin-2 receptor and soluble CD8 antigen in active rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and of soluble CD8 antigen (sCD8) in sera and in supernatants of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) derived from patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were studied. sIL-2R concentrations in sera derived from patients with RA (1484 +/- 382 U/ml) were significantly higher than in sera derived from healthy controls (380 +/- 110 U/ml; P less than 0.0005). In contrast, supernatants of PHA-stimulated PBMC derived from patients with RA contained similar amounts of sIL-2R (727 +/- 467 U/ml) as those derived from healthy control individuals (833 +/- 508 U/ml; P greater than 0.1). When investigated for the presence of sCD8 antigen, sera derived from patients with RA contained significantly lower amounts (30 +/- 28 U/ml) than sera derived from healthy controls (405 +/- 136 U/ml; P less than 0.0005). Similarly, PHA stimulation of PBMC derived from patients with RA resulted in a significantly lower production of sCD8 (35 +/- 46 U/ml) as compared to the one obtained by PHA stimulation of PBMC derived from healthy controls (177 +/- 59 U/ml; P less than 0.0005). This difference could not be explained by a lower proliferative response to PHA by PBMC derived from patients with RA (21,474 +/- 14,022 cpm) as compared to healthy controls (29,549 +/- 11,188 cpm; P greater than 0.05). Our data demonstrate that PBMC derived from patients with active RA differ from PBMC derived from healthy individuals concerning their ability to produce sIL-2R and sCD8.
authors.affiliation: II. Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Zielinski
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pesau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2