title: T-cell compartment in synovial fluid of pediatric patients with JIA correlates with disease phenotype.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an autoimmune disease where T cells are key players. It can be classified into two main clinical diseases: polyarticular and pauciarticular, based on the number of joints involved. Oligoarthritis, which is considered a pauciarticular subtype since it involves up to four joints upon presentation, is further divided into persistent or extended forms based on disease progression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here we assessed the T-cell compartment in synovial fluid obtained from 33 JIA patients with active disease and correlated the analyzed parameters with the patients' clinical characteristics. The T-cell compartment was determined by the representation of T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoires and the amount of TCR excision circles (TRECs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with polyarticular disease have more a clonal pattern of their TCR repertoire. These findings were consistent in all tested TCR-Vγ consensus primers. Similarly, patients with polyarticular disease had lower TREC levels than patients with pauciarticular disease. A predictive value of TRECs may be suggested, as lower TREC levels were observed in patients in whom disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs were initiated subsequently during the follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In pediatric JIA patients, we showed an alteration in the T cells from synovial fluid, which correlated with disease phenotype, assumedly secondary to enhanced proliferation, clonal TCR restriction, and reduced T-cell production, possibly reflecting a different disease or a different course of disease progression.
authors: Cancer Research Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Ninette
authors: N
authors: Amariglio
authors: Adi
authors: A
authors: Klein
authors: Lana
authors: L
authors: Dagan
authors: Atar
authors: A
authors: Lev
authors: Shai
authors: S
authors: Padeh
authors: Gideon
authors: G
authors: Rechavi
authors: Yackov
authors: Y
authors: Berkun
authors: Raz
authors: R
authors: Somech
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019672:Genes, T-Cell Receptor; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents