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The Role of T Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis

  • Chapter
Autoimmunity

Abstract

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), T cells infiltrate into the synovial membrane where they initiate and maintain activation of macrophages and synovial fibroblasts, transforming them into tissue-destructive effector cells. The diversity of the disease process and the formation of complex lymphoid microstructures indicate that multiple T cell activation pathways are involved. This model is supported by the association of distinct disease patterns with different variants and combinations of HLA class II molecules. T cell pathology in RA, however, is not limited to the joint. Affected patients have major abnormalities in the T cell pool, with a marked contraction in T cell receptor diversity and an outgrowth of large clonal populations. Clonally expanded CD4+ T cells lose expression of the CD28 molecule and gain expression of perforin and granzyme. Consequently, the functional profile of expanded CD4+CD28null T cells is fundamentally changed and is shifted towards tissue-injurious capabilities. CD4+CD28null T cells are particularly important in patients with extra-articular manifestations of RA, where they may have a direct role in vascular injury. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the loss of T cell diversity and the emergence of pro-inflammatory CD4+CD28null T cell clonotypes may have implications for other autoimmune syndromes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA

    Cornelia M. Weyand, Ewa Bryl & Jörg J. Goronzy

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  1. Cornelia M. Weyand
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  2. Ewa Bryl
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  3. Jörg J. Goronzy
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland

    Andrzej Górski , Hubert Krotkiewski  & Michał Zimecki ,  & 

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Weyand, C.M., Bryl, E., Goronzy, J.J. (2001). The Role of T Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis. In: Górski, A., Krotkiewski, H., Zimecki, M. (eds) Autoimmunity. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0981-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0981-2_13

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