Frequency of Th17 CD20+ cells in the peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients is higher compared to healthy subjects

• Published in: Arthritis research & therapy Vol. 13; no. 6; p. R208
• Main Authors: Eggleton, Paul, Bremer, Edwin, Tarr, Joanna M, de Bruyn, Marco, Helfrich, Wijnand, Kendall, Alexandra, Haigh, Richard C, Viner, Nick J, Winyard, Paul G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 01.01.2011; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antigens, CD20 - immunology; Antigens, CD20 - metabolism; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - blood; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - metabolism; CD3 Complex - immunology; CD3 Complex - metabolism; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Immunophenotyping; Interleukin-17 - immunology; Interleukin-17 - metabolism; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - immunology; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - metabolism; Lymphocyte Count; Microscopy, Confocal; Middle Aged; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Th17 Cells - immunology; Th17 Cells - metabolism

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered a T cell driven autoimmune disease, therefore, the ability of B cell depleting biologics, e.g., anti-CD20 antibodies, to alleviate RA is unclear. This study examined the proportions of IL-17-secreting lymphocytes in the blood of healthy subjects and RA patient...