Synovial fluid lymphocytes differ from peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Peripheral blood (PBL) and synovial fluid lymphocytes (SFL) from 12 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were analyzed using monoclonal antibodies that detect specific T cell surface antigens (OKT3, OKT4, OKT8, SC1) and antigens associated with lymphocyte activation (anti-Ia, OKT10, B3/25). RA patients' PBL contained 1010 +/- 74 OKT4+ and 401 +/- 62 OKT8+ cells/mm3 (ratio OKT4+/OKT8+ = 2.4 +/- 0.3). In contrast, SFL from these patients exhibited a significantly different proportion of T cell subsets (ratio OKT4+/OKT8+ = 1.1 +/- 0.5) (p less than 0.0001) with 630 +/- 180 OKT4+ and 595 +/- 225 OKT8+ cells/mm3. Synovial fluid contained significantly more activated T cells based on the presence of Ia-positive T cells (19 +/- 5%) and reactivity with antibody OKT10 (49 +/- 7%) compared with RA-PBL (8 +/- 3% Ia-positive T cells and 13 +/- 6% OKT10+). Compared with RA-PBL, normal PBL contained an elevated number of OKT8+ cells (610 +/- 48/mm3), a similar number of OKT4+ cells (1040 +/- 86/mm3), and a lower percentage of activated lymphocytes (3 +/- 2% Ia-positive T cells and 10 +/- 8% OKT10+ cells). SFL, RA-PBL, and normal PBL all showed less than 3% cells reactive with antibody B3/25 (anti-transferrin receptor antibody), a marker found on in vitro activated T cells. These findings demonstrate that the lymphocytes at the site of inflammation differ significantly from the lymphocytes present in the peripheral blood of the same patients. RA patients had a small but significant decrease in the number of OKT8+ cells/mm3 compared with normal PBL (p less than 0.01), suggesting that this lymphocyte subset may home to synovial tissues, where it becomes activated.