Chemotaxis of leukocytes from peripheral blood of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

Spontaneous and stimulated migration of leukocytes from peripheral blood was studied in 15 patients with JRA and 15 controls. Cells from both groups showed equal migratory ability. However, in the presence of the activated serum of the JRA patients, there was a significant decrease in migration of leukocytes from JRA patients and from controls, suggesting the existence of a serum factor responsible for this chemotactic impairment. The effect of washing on the migration of these cells was also studied. A significant decrease could be observed in the spontaneous and stimulated migration of washed cells from both JRA patients and controls.