CELLULAR IMMUNITY ABNORMALITIES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS / 解放军医学杂志

To investigate the cellular immunity abnormalities of patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA), peripheral blood lymphocytes subpopulations, interleukin 2 (IL-2) production and natural killer (NK) cell activity were determined in 9 patients with RA. The results showed that there were a remarkable decrease in NK cell activity and poor response to IL-2 stimlulation. IL-2 production and.the expression of membrane-bound IL-2 receptor were increased in RA patients. The percentage of T4 positive cells and the ratio of T4/T8 were also increased in patients with RA. The results indicate that there are severe cellular immunity abnormalities in patients with RA.