TCRBV14S1 AND RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS REVISITED - ABNORMALITIES IN THE PERCENTAGE OF TRANSCRIBED TCRBV14S1 FAMILY GENES IN PBMC FROM RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS PATIENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify VP gene families that are as sociated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A PCR-based assay was used to compare the vp repertoire of unstimulated PBMC from 18 RA patients an d 18 matched controls. The influence of an HLA-DRB -1-binding peptide (HA(307-319)) on the V beta repertoire of PBMC in culture was compared in 11 RA patients and 10 controls. There was a larger variance in the percentage of BV14S1 transcripts in unstimulated PBMC from RA patient s than from controls (p = 0.0003). The mean percentage of BV14S1 trans cripts was higher in RA patients when prednisone-treated RA patients w ere excluded from the analysis (p = 0.0006). In vitro stimulation with the HA(307-319) peptide increased the percentage of BV14S1 transcript s in PBMC from RA patients (+ 1.5 +/- 0.4%, p < 0.005) but not control s (+ 0.3 +/- 0.2%, ns), and the difference between RA patients and con trols was significant (p = 0.03). In conclusion, there is an associati on between RA and the BV14S1 gene family in New Zealand patients.