title: The expression of chemokine receptor CXCR3: relevance to disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Abstract  CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) is selectively expressed on T helper 1 (Th1) type T cells and has been shown to be responsible for Th1-dominant immune responses. In this study, we analyzed the expression of CXCR3 on peripheral blood T lymphocytes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by FACS analysis using antihuman CXCR3 monoclonal antibody and determined the clinical relevance in this disease. Significantly higher expression of CXCR3 was found on peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocytes of RA patients than healthy controls. The CXCR3 expression in RA patients with a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate was significantly higher than in those with a low erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Moreover, we found that the CXCR3 expression in RA patients with long-term disease duration was significantly higher than in those with short-term disease. On the other hand, CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), which was shown to be selectively expressed on Th2-type T cells, was expressed at low levels in RA patients as well as in healthy controls. The serum level of interleukin (IL)-18 in RA patients was higher than that in healthy controls, although there was no statistically significant difference. This study suggests that the Th1 immune response is predominant in RA and that CXCR3 may have relevance in regard to the disease course in RA patients.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Tokushima University , 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503 , Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Motoki
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Teruki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamiya
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hase
authors.forename: Yasukazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohmoto
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.forename: Saburo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sone