PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Y T Konttinen
AU  - T F Li
AU  - J Lassus
AU  - V Waris
AU  - S Santavirta
AU  - I Virtanen
TI  - Removal of hyaline articular cartilage reduces lymphocyte infiltration and activation in rheumatoid synovial membrane.
DP  - 2001 Oct 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 2184--2189
VI  - 28
IP  - 10
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/28/10/2184.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/28/10/2184.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2001 Oct 01; 28
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of removal of hyaline articular cartilage on synovial membrane pathology in chronic arthritis. METHODS: Synovial membrane samples were obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis in association with total hip arthroplasty, either primary or revision surgery. Synovial membrane histopathology was assessed by immunochemical staining and morphometry. RESULTS: CD68 positive macrophages were common in revision synovial membranes. In contrast, T lymphocytes were much more common in primary rheumatoid synovial membranes (p < 0.001). Many T lymphocytes in primary synovial membrane were HLA-D/DR positive (p < 0.001) and interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) positive (p < 0.001) and contained interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma; p < 0.001) and tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-beta; p < 0.001). In contrast, revision synovial membranes from patients with chronic arthritis contained only a few HLA-D/DR positive T cells and practically no IL-2R, IFN-gamma, or TNF-beta positive activated T lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: The components of hyaline articular cartilage may be the source of autoantigen responsible for perpetuation of chronic arthritides.