Objective: This work studies the effects of Cyclosporine A (CsA) upon the activation and proliferation of mononuclear cells (MNC) from the peripheral blood (PB) of patients with chronic autoimmune arthritis and from healthy controls, and from the synovial fluid (SF) of patients.
Methods: In vitro studies of activation, proliferation, mRNA expression and lymphokine production were carried out.
Results: We found in the PB and SF MNCs from patients with autoimmune arthritis that CsA inhibits the proliferative response, activation antigen expression, IL-2 mRNA expression and IL-2 production induced by polyclonal mitogens in a dose dependent manner.
Conclusion: CsA blocks lymphocyte activation in PB and SF MNCs from patients with autoimmune arthritis.