Alpha beta but not gamma delta T cell clones in synovial fluids of patients with reactive arthritis show active transcription of tumour necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma.

Abstract

To compare the cytokine expression profile of three CD8+, three CD4+, and three gammadelta+ T cell clones all derived from the synovial fluids of three patients with reactive arthritis (ReA). Complementary DNA based microarrays containing the specific sequence of 56 cytokine transcripts were used for screening. Selected genes were confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay. Microarray showed that transcripts encoding for interferon gamma and tumour necrosis factor alpha were expressed by all CD8+ and CD4+ T cell clones. However, gammadelta+ T cells predominantly expressed transforming growth factor beta2 and granulocyte monocyte-colony stimulating factor. T lymphocyte clones from the joint of patients with ReA exhibit differential cytokine expression profiles. CD8+ and CD4+ T cells demonstrate a Th1 mediated profile, whereas gammadelta+ T cells show a more heterogeneous and less proinflammatory Th3 driven pattern.