Synovial VLA-1+ T cells display an oligoclonal and partly distinct repertoire in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis.
VLA-1 integrin expressing T cells are more frequent in inflammatory synovial fluids (SF) compared to peripheral blood. Recent studies suggest that VLA-1 expression mainly marks IFNgamma+ T cells while excluding both IL-4+ and regulatory FoxP3+ T cells. To further characterize the TCR repertoire of the potentially pathogenic VLA-1+ IFNgamma+ T cells, isolated from SF of adult patients with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, we determined the complementarity determining region (CDR)3 spectratypes. Here we show in a cohort of 9 patients that VLA-1+ T cells display a perturbed repertoire that, moreover, differs from that of VLA-1- synovial T cells and even VLA-1+ PB T cells. Importantly, random sequencing of the CDR3 region of the TCR variable beta (BV) 6.1 gene of both VLA-1+ and VLA-1- synovial T cells, in one patient, revealed that their sequences were by and large different (29 out of 33 clones). Thus, our results imply that VLA-1+ T cells that infiltrate into inflamed joints represent a partly distinct and highly oligoclonal population of Th1 cells, probably selected by unique antigens.
Goldstein
Itamar
I
Cancer Research Center and Institute of Hematology, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Itamar.Goldstein@sheba.health.gov.il
Simon
Amos J
AJ
Ben Horin
Shomron
S
Matzri
Sarit
S
Koltakov
Alexander
A
Langevitz
Pnina
P
Rechavi
Gideon
G
Amariglio
Ninette
N
Bank
Ilan
I
D015535:Arthritis, Psoriatic / Q000276:immunology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000235:genetics; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D039222:Integrin alpha1beta1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D039222:Integrin alpha1beta1; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta