T cell receptor rearrangements in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: a search for oligoclonality.

Southern blot analysis of DNA from paired samples of synovial compartment (membrane and/or fluid) and peripheral blood T cells from nine children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) was carried out. Using a T cell receptor C beta probe, dominant TCR rearrangements were discovered in specimens from three patients: synovial fluid T cells from one, synovial fluid and synovial membrane cells from a second, and synovial membrane and peripheral blood cells from a third. The patient showing dominant bands in peripheral blood as well as in synovium was the only child in the series with systemic disease. Since non-specific T cell recruitment is likely to dilute antigen specific clones to low levels, the finding of dominant rearrangements in three of nine patients may indicate that oligoclonality is indeed a feature of JRA.