SYNOVIAL LYMPHOCYTES INDICATE BACTERIAL AGENTS MAY CAUSE SOME CASES OF RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

Objective. To evaluate synovial lymphocyte response data from ''rheuma toid'' patients, to determine if ''bacterial'' antigens caused signifi cant stimulation. Methods. Two-tailed t tests, analysis of variance, a nd metaanalysis were applied to H-3-thymidine uptake triplicate/quadru plicate counts, resulting from microbiological antigen stimulation of synovial fluid lymphocytes. Results. In 5 patients with rheumatoid art hritis, maximal synovial lymphocyte responses to chlamydial (in 3) and salmonella (in 2) antigens were significantly greater than to other t ested antigens. Conclusion. The data, associated with other published data from similar studies, suggest that Chlamydia and pathogenic Enter obacteriaceae may be etiologically related to the arthritis of some pa tients with rheumatoid arthritis.