To determine if type II collagen (CII) reactive T lymphocytes selectively accumulate in the inflamed joint of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to study the specificity of the CII reactive cells.
Synovial fluid (SF) cells or peripheral blood lymphocytes were cultured with interleukin 2 (IL-2) for 24 h and then cultured at limiting dilution concentrations in the presence of filler cells and IL-2. The outgrowing cell lines were screened for their responses to CII. The percentages of the CII reactive T cells from SF were compared with those from peripheral blood of patients with RA. The CII reactive T cell lines were tested for their responses to different types of collagen.
CII reactive T cell lines were identified in the SF of 3 RA patients; the frequencies were 5.0% (11/219), 3.7% (5/134), and 3.5% (3/86), respectively. In contrast, none of CII-specific T cell lines were identified in peripheral blood of the patients. The T cell lines recognized both human and bovine CII and, to a lesser extent, type I collagen.
CII reactive T cells are present in high frequency in the inflamed joint of patients with RA, where they may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.