INCREASED EXPRESSION OF INTERFERON (IFN)-GAMMA TOGETHER WITH IFN-GAMMA RECEPTOR IN THE RHEUMATOID SYNOVIAL MEMBRANE COMPARED WITH SYNOVIUM OF PATIENTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS

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Abstract
Data concerning the presence of T-cell-derived cytokines in the rheumatic joint are conflicting, challenging, the hypothesis that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a T-cell-mediated disease. In this study synovial tissue specimens of 11 patients with RA and eight patients with osteoarthritis (OA) were stained for interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and its receptor. The level of expression of IFN-γ was compared with that in tissue specimens of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions of the skin and of chronic tonsillitis. Furthermore, the percentage of T-lymphocytes which stained positive for IFNγ was determined using double staining techniques. IFN-γ and its receptor were detected in all patients with RA and in 7/8 and 3/8, respectively, of patients with OA. Expression of IFN-γ (P < 0.02) and IFN-γ receptor (P < 0.01) in synovial tissue of patients with RA was more abundant compared with that in patients with OA. Although IFN-γ could be detected in RA synovial tissue, the level of expression was less when compared with DTH reactions of the skin and tonsillitis. The percentage of CD3 + cells being positive for IFN-γ was ∼ 1 % in RA, whereas in DTH reactions of the skin it was >90% and in tonsillitis ∼30%. We conclude that the presence of IFN-γ and its receptor in RA synovial tissue suggests a role for this cytokine in the ongoing immunological reaction of the inflamed joint.

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