LAK细胞疫苗对大鼠佐剂关节炎淋巴细胞及其亚群的影响

目的：为进一步探索ＬＡＮ细胞疫苗在ＡＡ大鼠治疗中的作用．方法：近交系ＳＤ 大鼠以完全弗氏佐剂致炎形成佐剂关节炎（adjuvant arthritis,AA）．分离ＡＡ大鼠淋巴细 胞,经培养扩增后,采用已建立的肿瘤疫苗专利技术制成ＬＡＫ细胞疫苗．实验动物分别 于腋下注射ＬＡＫ细胞疫苗,每５日一次共３次．治疗前及治疗后一周分别采外周血测定 Ｔ细胞亚群,同时行外周血涂片和骨髓细胞学检查．结果：经ＬＡＫ细胞疫苗免疫后,ＡＡ 实验动物组外周血淋巴细胞百分率较对照组降低（Ｐ＜０.０１）,Ｔ细胞亚群ＣＤ８＋较对照组明 显上升（Ｐ＜０．０５）,ＣＤ４／ＣＤ８比值下降,两组差别具有显著性意义（Ｐ＜０．０５）。结论： ＬＡＫ细胞疫苗可有效地降低佐剂关节炎大鼠外周血淋巴细胞的数目并提高ＣＤ８＋Ｔ细胞 亚群的数量,在治疗自身免疫性疾病中可能是一种有用的手段,值得进一步研究．     

Gamma heavy chain disease in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis – a laboratory evaluation

Introduction:

Heavy chain diseases (HCD) are neoplastic proliferations of B cells which secrete truncated immunoglobulin heavy chains without associated light chains. Being rare and probably underdiagnosed diseases the aim of this report is to show an additional case of gamma heavy chain disease in a 48 year old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis focusing on the laboratory presentation.

Materials and methods:

Laboratory work-up included agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE), capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), immunofixation and nephelometrically determined immunoglobulin and immunoglobulin subclasses of the patient’s serum. Urine samples were also subjected to immunofixation and to a SDS-PAGE with consecutive immunoblot.

Results:

Nephelometrically measured elevated IgG concentrations were noted in combination with a decreased gamma globulin region and an increased beta globulin region on AGE. A definite monoclonal spike was not identified on AGE but at least suspected on CZE; finally serum and urine immunofixation demonstrated a monoclonal gamma heavy chain devoid of any corresponding light chains confirming the diagnosis of HCD. Analysis of the gamma heavy chain (HC) with means of SDS-PAGE revealed proteins of 40 kD and 80 kD most likely presenting a truncated HC in its monomeric and dimeric form and possibly leading to the failure of IgG-subclass typing with the applied IgG subclass antisera.

Conclusion:

This case report illustrates a new case of gamma HCD demonstrating variable laboratory manifestations and therefore the need for heightened awareness concerning this disease when confronted with abnormal and discrepant protein profiles in routinely applied laboratory tests.     

Unique Correlation Between Mutated Citrullinated Vimentine IgG Autoantibodies and Markers of Systemic Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory systemic autoimmune disease, primarily affecting the peripheral joints. Anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin autoantibodies (anti-MCV) of IgG isotype were shown to be a useful diagnostic marker of RA especially in RA patients who were anti-cyclic citrullinated protein autoantibodies (anti-CCP) negative. Nevertheless, published data correlates rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-CCP or anti-MCV antibodies with either erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as markers of disease activity, not investigated the possible correlations of RA autoantibodies towards ESR and CRP in comparison. Herein, we aim to evaluate the usefulness of anti-MCV as a dependable marker in established RA compared with anti-CCP and RF antibodies and to examine correlations between RF, anti-CCP and anti-MCV antibodies towards ESR and serum CRP. Serum RF-IgA, RF-IgM, anti-CCP and anti-MCV levels were measured in 30 patients with RA and 40 patients with other autoimmune diseases (non-RA) compared with 20 normal subjects. Specificity, sensitivity and AUC for RF antibodies, anti-CCP and anti-MCV were calculated towards RA diagnosis. Our results showed that ESR and CRP had significantly higher values in both RA and non-RA patients compared with our healthy controls with observed significant increment in RA patients compared with non-RA patients. An important finding from our study is that 33.3 % of RA patients were anti-CCP negative but being positive towards anti-MCV. Also, in-between 36.7 up to 40 % of RA patients were RF-IgA and RF-IgM negative while being anti-MCV positive. Anti-MCV antibodies showed the highest specificity and sensitivity (97.5 and 86.6 %, respectively) towards RA diagnosis with the highest AUC value (0.920) compared with anti-CCP and RF antibodies. Correlation analyses revealed that there was no significant correlation between ESR along with CRP towards RF-IgA, RF-IgM and anti-CCP while profound highly significant correlation exhibited between ESR and CRP towards anti-MCV data (r = 0.879 and 0.994, respectively). Thus, our data suggest that the assessment of serum anti-MCV autoantibodies along with ESR and CRP considered as a simple laboratory regime for monitoring RA patients to assess and follow-up disease activity. The addition of anti-MCV autoantibodies to serologic markers in the ACR/EULAR classification criteria for RA will add points for patients with negative anti-CCP and RF antibodies.     

祛湿止痛汤治疗活动期类风湿关节炎的临床研究

目的:观察祛湿止痛汤治疗活动期类风湿关节炎的临床疗效.方法:65例病人随机分为治疗组(33例)和对照组(32例).观察治疗前后,临床症状和ESR、CRP、RF的变化.结果:治疗组在总有效率、临床症状、体征及实验室检查等方面明显优于对照组(P＜0.01或P＜0.05).结论:祛湿止痛汤治疗活动期类风湿关节炎,临床疗效显著.     

Effect of type II collagen treatment on the antioxidant status in immune tissues of adjuvant induced arthritic rats

Adjuvant induced arthritis (AIA) is a model widely used to study Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the present study, lipid peroxides level in spleen and thymus of AIA rats was observed to be significantly high compared to normal rats. A significant decrease in ascorbic acid (ASA), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) was also observed in spleen and thymus of AIA rats compared to normal rats. There was also a steady increase in the circulating immune complex level (CIC) throughout the experimental period in serum of AIA rats. In the present investigation, it was decided to study the effect of pre and post treatment with TYPE II collagen on the antioxidant status and the circulating immune complex level in AIA rats. The results from the present work indicates that the pretreatment with TYPE II collagen was effective in bringing significant changes on all the parameters studied in AIA rats. The post treatment with TYPE II collagen was effective in bringing significant changes on the CIC immune complex level and GSH content in the thymus tissue of AIA rats. The present work suggests that the pre treatment with TYPE II collagen was more effective in suppressing the disease than the post treatment.     

Immuno-Modulatory Effect and Therapeutic Potential of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brugia malayi</Emphasis> Cystatin in Experimentally Induced Arthritis

Helminths are known to modulate host’s immune system and understanding this modulation can help in identification of novel therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. In this study, we have assessed the immune-modulatory activity and the therapeutic effect of Brugia malayi recombinant cystatin (rBmCys) in methylated BSA (mBSA) induced arthritis using rodent model. Administration of rBmCys has suppressed the severity of mBSA-arthritis in mastomys by reducing paw swelling and other clinical disease parameters as evident from significantly decreased arthritic index. The anti-arthritic effect of rBmCys was also confirmed by decreased histopathological score for synovitis, bone erosion and fibrosis in the tissue sections of paws. Further, this therapeutic effect of cystatin was found to be associated with significantly decreased production of IFN-γ and TNF-α and increased release of IL-4 and IL-10 cytokines. These results implied that rBmCys treatment has alleviated mBSA-induced arthritis and thus can be a promising alternative agent for the treatment of arthritis.     

骨关节炎实验动物模型研究进展

目的：对近10余年骨关节炎实验动物模型研究进展进行探讨,以期待能为正确合理地选择骨性关节炎动物模型提供一定的参考。方法：收集近10余年骨关节炎实验动物模型研究进展进行比较。结论：诱发性骨关节炎实验动物模型的方法很多,各种造模方法各有其优缺点,在进行动物实验研究时应根据临床需要和对骨关节炎某个发病机制的方面进行研究以及后续实验研究的要求来进行综合考虑,以选择和建立理想的骨关节炎动物实验模型。