The proliferative effect of human cartilage glycoprotein-39 on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat lymphocytes
Objective To examine the proliferative effect of synthetic cyclic human cartilage glycoprotein-39 （HCgp39） on T cell of collagen-induced arthritis （CIA） rat, and to explore the role of HCgp39 in rheumatoid arthritis （RA）. Methods We established the rat model of the collagen-induced arthritis （CIA）. The T lymphocytes were isolated and incubated with HCgp39. Proliferation of T cells was determined by cell counting kit-8. Results Two weeks after the first immunization, T cell response to HCgp39 was more significant in CIA groups than in controls（P〈0.01 ）, and the response was associated with disease course （ r = 0. 732, P〈0.01 ） and anti- HCgp39 antibody （ r = 0. 460, P〈0.01 ）. A strong correlation be- tween T cell proliferation and pannus （ r = -0.516, P〈0.01 ）, synovium score （ r = -0.346, P〈0.01 ） was also observed. Besides, the levels of anti- HCgp39 antibody and comp in each CIA group were significantly higher than in controls（P〈0.01 ）, and the anti- HCgp39 antibody strongly correlated with disease course（r= 0.346, P〈0.01 ） and comp （ r = 0. 235, P〈0.01 ）. Conclusion The proliferative response of T cell to HCgp39 was found in the early stage of CIA rat, and the HCgp39 peptide antibody was detected in serum, suggestion that the HCgp39 antizen plays an important role in the pathogenesis of early RA. 
 
Key words: 
Collagen-induced arthritis （CIA） ;  Human cartilage glycoprotein-39 （HCgp39） ;  Tlymphocytes;  Proliferative response;  Cartilage oligomeric mat rix protein（COMP）