DISTRIBUTION OF T-CELLS AND SIGNS OF T-CELL ACTIVATION IN THE RHEUMATOID JOINT - IMPLICATIONS FOR SEMIQUANTITATIVE COMPARATIVE HISTOLOGY

A prerequisite for comparative histology of synovial tissue by means o f biopsies is insight into the distribution of a marker under study. T his investigation focuses on the variation in the presence of T cells and signs of T-cell activation within the rheumatoid joint. For this p urpose, multiple slides from several pieces of synovial tissue from di fferent parts of a joint were stained and scored for the expression of CD3, CD25, HLA-DR, Ki67 and interferon-gamma. The variation in scores for the presence of T cells and markers of activation was more pronou nced in slides prepared from different pieces of tissue than in slides from one piece of tissue. Based on multiple analysis of variance, met hods are suggested to establish a reliable overall score for the expre ssion of a certain marker within a joint. Following validation, such m ethods may prove to be useful by allowing semiquantitative histology o f synovial tissue for studies on arthritis.