Hyporesponsiveness of lymphocytes to virus antigens in rheumatoid arthritis

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Abstract
The immune response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to measles, rubella, parainfluenza types 1, 2, and 3 RNA virus antigens, and to varicella‐zoster and herpes virus type 1 DNA virus antigens was evaluated in 14 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 14 matched controls by assessing 3H‐thymidine incorporation. The results demonstrated hyporesponsivenss of lymphocytes from RA patients to virus antigens and phytohemag‐glutinin (PHA), which did not appear to be nonspecific because of a lack of correlation between response to virus antigens and response to mitogens. The pattern of decreased responsiveness was suggestive of a relative restriction of hyporesponsiveness to RNA virus antigens.