INTRASYNOVIAL LEVELS OF SULFATED GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS AND AUTOANTIBODIES TO TYPE-II COLLAGEN IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS - A CORRELATIVE ANALYSIS

It is uncertain whether the autoantibodies to type II collagen that oc cur frequently in the serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheuma toid arthritis (RA), but rarely in other articular diseases, are prima ry or secondary to cartilage damage. Hence, we measured antibodies in synovial fluid from patients with RA and other articular diseases and related these to the concentration of sulphated glycosaminoglycans, as a measure of ongoing cartilage catabolism. Synovial fluids from 42 pa tients with RA and 30 patients with other articular diseases were stud ied. We found that levels of antibodies to native and denatured collag en were significantly higher in RA than in all other articular disease s, whereas concentrations of sulphated glycosaminoglycans were similar . The absence of any correlation between levels of sulphated glycosami noglycans and antibodies to collagen weighs against the occurrence of such antibodies in RA as a secondary effect of cartilage damage.