TCRBV14S1 and rheumatoid arthritis revisited: abnormalities in the percentage of transcribed TCRBV14S1 family genes in PBMC from rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The purpose of this study was to identify Vbeta gene families that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A PCR-based assay was used to compare the Vbeta repertoire of unstimulated PBMC from 18 RA patients and 18 matched controls. The influence of an HLA-DRB1-binding peptide (HA307-319) on the Vbeta repertoire of PBMC in culture was compared in 11 RA patients and 10 controls. There was a larger variance in the percentage of BV14S1 transcripts in unstimulated PBMC from RA patients than from controls (p = 0.0003). The mean percentage of BV14S1 transcripts was higher in RA patients when prednisone-treated RA patients were excluded from the analysis (p = 0.0006). In vitro stimulation with the HA307-319 peptide increased the percentage of BV14S1 transcripts in PBMC from RA patients (+ 1.5 +/- 0.4%, p < 0.005) but not controls (+ 0.3 +/- 0.2%, ns), and the difference between RA patients and controls was significant (p = 0.03). In conclusion, there is an association between RA and the BV14S1 gene family in New Zealand patients.