Synovial VLA-1+ T cells display an oligoclonal and partly distinct repertoire in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis

Clin Immunol. 2008 Jul;128(1):75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2008.02.014. Epub 2008 May 5.

Abstract

VLA-1 integrin expressing T cells are more frequent in inflammatory synovial fluids (SF) compared to peripheral blood. Recent studies suggest that VLA-1 expression mainly marks IFNgamma+ T cells while excluding both IL-4+ and regulatory FoxP3+ T cells. To further characterize the TCR repertoire of the potentially pathogenic VLA-1+ IFNgamma+ T cells, isolated from SF of adult patients with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, we determined the complementarity determining region (CDR)3 spectratypes. Here we show in a cohort of 9 patients that VLA-1+ T cells display a perturbed repertoire that, moreover, differs from that of VLA-1- synovial T cells and even VLA-1+ PB T cells. Importantly, random sequencing of the CDR3 region of the TCR variable beta (BV) 6.1 gene of both VLA-1+ and VLA-1- synovial T cells, in one patient, revealed that their sequences were by and large different (29 out of 33 clones). Thus, our results imply that VLA-1+ T cells that infiltrate into inflamed joints represent a partly distinct and highly oligoclonal population of Th1 cells, probably selected by unique antigens.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arthritis, Psoriatic / immunology*
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / immunology*
  • Complementarity Determining Regions / genetics
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Integrin alpha1beta1 / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / genetics
  • Synovial Fluid / immunology
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / metabolism
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism

Substances

  • Complementarity Determining Regions
  • Integrin alpha1beta1
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta