title: In vitro autoreactivity against skin in rheumatoid arthritis: are peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis able to lyze autologous keratinocytes?
abstract: An in vitro skin explant model was originally developed to predict the occurrence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants. In previous studies we reported that peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis were able to induce graft-versus-host-like histopathological changes when co-cultured in vitro with autologous skin explants. The aim of the present study was to verify if observed skin damage was really of autoimmune origin. Using a 51chromium release cytotoxic assay we found that peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients lyzed autologous keratinocytes (n=5 patients with rheumatoid arthritis) but not autologous lymphoblasts (n=4 with rheumatoid arthritis, n=8 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis). No specific lysis of keratinocytes or lymphoblasts was observed in healthy controls (n=15). We hypothesize that autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells might recognize similar autoantigen(s) expressed on epidermal cells, which gives rise to an autoimmune response in the synovium.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Motol in Prague, Czech Republic. katerina.stechova@lfmotol.cuni.cz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stechová
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vavrincová
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reitzová
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chudoba
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zimák
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hromadníková
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D015551:Autoimmunity; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology*