Autoreactivity to human heat-shock protein 60 predicts disease remission in oligoarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To determine whether T lymphocyte reactivity to endogenous human hsp60 plays a regulatory role in the course of oligoarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

METHODS:

A prospective, longitudinal study of T cell reactivity to HSP in 15 patients with newly diagnosed HLA-B27 negative oligoarticular JRA was performed. Results were compared with those in a group of 20 patients with newly diagnosed polyarticular or systemic JRA or with acute arthritis caused by other systemic diseases or viral infections, as well as with those in a group of 9 healthy control subjects.

RESULTS:

In 86% of the patients with oligoarticular JRA (13 of 15), significant T lymphocyte proliferative responses to hsp60 were found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and/or synovial fluid mononuclear cells within 3 months after the onset of arthritis. Only 5% of the patients in the rheumatologic disease control group (1 of 20) showed such positivity. All patients with oligoarticular JRA and positive responses to human hsp60 developed a remission of their disease within 12 weeks. During this period of remission, blood samples were taken from 8 patients and showed significantly lower and even negative responses to hsp60, compared with active disease, when all 8 patients had good responses.

CONCLUSION:

The results show that significant proliferative responses to human hsp60 can be found early in the course of oligoarticular JRA. Furthermore, these responses correlate with disease activity in such a manner that T cell reactivity to human hsp60 seems to be associated with disease remission.

• Authors: A B Prakken, W van Eden, G T Rijkers, W Kuis, E A Toebes, E R de Graeff-Meeder, R van der Zee, B J Zegers
• Journal: Arthritis and rheumatism (Arthritis Rheum) Vol. 39 Issue 11 Pg. 1826-32 (Nov 1996) ISSN: 0004-3591 [Print] United States
• PMID: 8912504 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Chaperonin 60
• HLA-B27 Antigen

Topics

• Adolescent
• Arthritis, Juvenile (immunology)
• Autoimmunity
• Cell Division
• Cell Line
• Chaperonin 60 (immunology)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Female
• HLA-B27 Antigen (blood)
• Humans
• Longitudinal Studies
• Male
• Prospective Studies
• T-Lymphocytes (cytology)