T cell response to cyclic citrullinated peptide in patients with rheumatoid arthritis / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To examine the role of synthetic cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) in T cell autoreactivity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by detecting T cell proliferation. Methods Twenty-nine RA, 8 primary Sjo gren syndrome (pSS) and 16 osteoarthritis (OA) patients were included in this study. Proliferation of T cells was measured by methyltetiazolium incorporation following incubation with CCP. Results T cell response to CCP was more common in RA patients than in controls. The response rate to CCP was higher in late RA than in early RA. However, the response wasn′t associated with disease activity. A strong association between T cell proliferation and RF, anti-CCP antibody was observed. Conclusions T cell proliferation in response to CCP was found in the majority of RA patients, even in early RA, suggesting that the citrullinated peptide play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.