The distinct subgroup of patients with rheumatoid arthritis shown by Ig G3-reactive rheumatoid factor.

The reactivity of rheumatoid factor (RF) with immunoglobulins of the IgG3 subclass was examined in 49 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using two types of IgG3 myeloma (routine and IgG3m-15 allotype). Among 49 patients, serum from eight cases showed positive reactivity with both types of IgG3 myeloma by radio-immunoassay (RIA). The isotype of IgG3-reactive RF was not specific; it belonged to the IgM class as well as the IgG subclasses IgG1, IgG2 and IgG4. The patients with IgG3-reactive RF belonged to the clinically-severe classification of RA, having a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), high titre in the RA hemagglutination (RAHA) test, and above all they had low levels of complement. Generally, it is concluded that patients with IgG3-reactive RF have serious arthritis and that IgG3-reactive RF might play an important role in the inflammatory process. Furthermore, it was also shown that the RF-reactive site was not associated with the protein-A binding site of IgG3, since RF reacting with IgG3m-15 reacted similarly with routine IgG3, regardless of the difference of the protein-A binding activity. This was confirmed by adding protein-A to the reaction of RF and IgG3m-15 which binds with protein-A. This suggests that the actual reactive site of RF is different to the site that binds protein-A.