Association of methotrexate treatment with a decrease of double negative (CD4-CD8-) and gamma/delta T cell levels in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
It has been suggested that double negative (CD4-CD8-) (DN) and gamma/delta T cells may be involved in some autoimmune diseases. We investigated peripheral blood DN and gamma/delta T cell levels in patients with active juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).


METHODS
DN and gamma/delta T cell levels were measured in 42 patients with active JRA and in 10 healthy controls comparable for age by an immunofluorescence double staining procedure.


RESULTS
All 3 JRA onset types had DN and gamma/delta T cell levels not significantly different from those of controls, although a wide scattering of data was present. No correlation was found between DN or gamma/delta T cell levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rate values or the number of active joints. When patients were divided according to treatment, we found that DN and gamma/delta T cell levels were significantly lower (p = 0.001, p = 0.02, respectively) in patients receiving methotrexate (MTX) than in patients not receiving MTX. The association of MTX treatment with a decrease in DN and gamma/delta T cell levels was also confirmed in a followup study of individual patients. Among patients not receiving MTX, patients with systemic JRA presented DN T cell levels significantly higher than those of controls. In 5 patients with pauciarticular JRA DN and gamma/delta T cell levels were higher in synovial fluid than in the peripheral blood.


CONCLUSIONS
We found an increase in peripheral blood DN T cell levels in systemic JRA; treatment with MTX appears to be associated with a decrease in DN and gamma/delta T cell levels.
Massa
M
M
Clinica Pediatrica, Universita di Pavia, I.R.C.C.S., Policlinico S. Matteo, Italy.
de Benedetti
F
F
Robbioni
P
P
Ramenghi
B
B
Albani
S
S
Martini
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000032:analysis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; D008727:Methotrexate