Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1977 Aug;36(4):293–301. doi: 10.1136/ard.36.4.293

Rheumatoid synovial cells from intact joints. Morphology, growth, and polykaryocytosis.

B J Clarris, J R Fraser, C J Moran, K D Muirden
PMCID: PMC1006689  PMID: 901027

Abstract

Synovial cell lines were isolated by instillation of trypsin or chymotrypsin into intact knee joints of patients with persistent rheumatoid effusions resistant to conventional therapy. Morphology and growth in the primary phase were compared with rheumatoid cells isolated from excised synovium and nonrheumatoid synovial cells obtained from intact joints of cadavers or amputated limbs. Cell populations from all sources included varying proportions of macrophage-like and fibroblast-like cells, with only 1-3% multinucleated cells. In medium supplemented with calf serum alone, rheumatoid cells from intact joints showed negligible changes in morphology. However, in the presence of nonrheumatoid, autologous rheumatoid or homologous rheumatoid serum a rapid increase occurred in size of the macrophage-like cells and numbers of polykaryocytes, including some giant syncytial cells. These effects were directly proportional to serum concentration and were identical in fresh or heat-inactivated serum. In most of these rheumatoid cell lines no multiplication occurred, regardless of serum type or concentration. In rheumatoid synovial cells from excised synovium, human serum induced both polykaryocytosis and rapid growth of fibroblasts. Nonrheumatoid synovial cells grew rapidly but few polykaryocytes developed, mostly with less than 6 nuclei. Evidence of viral infection in rheumatoid synovial cells was sought by electron microscopy after stimulation of polykaryocytosis by human serum. In one of the cultures many cells were found with intranuclear particles possessing characteristics of the adenovirus group.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

295Image
on p.295
295Image
on p.295
295Image
on p.295
296Image
on p.296
296Image
on p.296
296Image
on p.296
298Image
on p.298
299Image
on p.299
299Image
on p.299

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BARLAND P., NOVIKOFF A. B., HAMERMAN D. Electron microscopy of the human synovial membrane. J Cell Biol. 1962 Aug;14:207–220. doi: 10.1083/jcb.14.2.207. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BARTFELD H. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIC AND NON-RHEUMATOID SYNOVIUM IN CELL CULTURE. MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, ACRIDINE ORANGE, AND FLUORESCENT FRACTION II STUDIES. Ann Rheum Dis. 1965 Jan;24:31–39. doi: 10.1136/ard.24.1.31. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Calderon J., Williams R. T., Unanue E. R. An inhibitor of cell proliferation released by cultures of macrophages. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Nov;71(11):4273–4277. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.11.4273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FRASER J. R., CATT K. J. Human synovial-cell culture use of a new method in a study of rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet. 1961 Dec 30;2(7218):1437–1439. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(61)91252-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ford D. K., Oh J. O. Use of "synovial" cell cultures in the search for virus in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1965 Dec;8(6):1047–1052. doi: 10.1002/art.1780080604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fraser J. R., McCall J. F. Culture of synovial cells in vitro. Notes on isolation and propagation. Ann Rheum Dis. 1965 Jul;24(4):351–359. doi: 10.1136/ard.24.4.351. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Grimley P. M., Sokoloff L. Synovial giant cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Am J Pathol. 1966 Nov;49(5):931–954. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Györkey F., Sinkovics J. G., Min K. W., Györkey P. A morphologic study on the occurrence and distribution of structures resembling viral nucleocapsids in collagen diseases. Am J Med. 1972 Aug;53(2):148–158. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(72)90125-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Highton T. C., Caughey D. E., Rayns D. G. A new inclusion body in rheumatoid synovia. Ann Rheum Dis. 1966 Mar;25(2):149–155. doi: 10.1136/ard.25.2.149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kinsella T. D., Baum J., Ziff M. Studies of isolated synovial living cells of rheumatoid and nonrheumatoid synovial membranes. Arthritis Rheum. 1970 Nov-Dec;13(6):734–753. doi: 10.1002/art.1780130603. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mackay J. M., Panayi G., Neill W. A., Robinson A., Smith W., Marmion B. P., Duthie J. J. Cytology of rheumatoid synovial cells in culture. I. Composition and sequence of cell populations in cultures of rheumatoid synovial fluid. Ann Rheum Dis. 1974 May;33(3):225–233. doi: 10.1136/ard.33.3.225. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Marshall J. L., Fraser J. R., Muirden K. D. Lysosomal activation by neutral saccharides in cell cultures of synovium. Ann Rheum Dis. 1977 Apr;36(2):130–138. doi: 10.1136/ard.36.2.130. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nelson D. S. Production by stimulated macrophages of factors depressing lymphocyte transformation. Nature. 1973 Nov 30;246(5431):306–307. doi: 10.1038/246306a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Palmer D. G. Polykaryocytes and rheumatoid disease. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1971 Oct;6(1):33–40. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Palmer D. G. Relationships between rheumatoid cells in culture. Ann Rheum Dis. 1975 Jun;34(3):235–238. doi: 10.1136/ard.34.3.235. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Panayi G. S., Mackay J. M., Neill W. A., McCormick J. N., Marmion B. P., Duthie J. J. Cytology of rheumatoid synovial cells in culture. II. Association of polykarocytes with rheumatoid and other forms of arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1974 May;33(3):234–239. doi: 10.1136/ard.33.3.234. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. ROIZMAN B. Polykaryocytosis. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1962;27:327–342. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1962.027.001.031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. ROIZMAN B., SCHLUEDERBERG A. E. Virus infection of cells in mitosis. III. Cytology of mitotic and amitotic HEp-2 cells infected with measles virus. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1962 Jan;28:35–53. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. STANFIELD A. B., STEPHENS C. A., Jr STUDIES OF CELLS CULTURED FROM 188 RHEUMATOID AND NON-RHEUMATOID SYNOVIAL TISSUES. Tex Rep Biol Med. 1963;21:400–411. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schumacher H. R., Jr Synovial membrane and fluid morphologic alterations in early rheumatoid arthritis: microvascular injury and virus-like particles. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jun 13;256:39–64. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb36034.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Serre H., Mandin J., Vago C., Sany J., Clot J. Recherche et étude de virus dans la synoviale au cours de la polyarthrite chronique rhumatismale. Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic. 1972 Oct;39(10):595–599. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Sutton J. S., Weiss L. Transformation of monocytes in tissue culture into macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinucleated giant cells. An electron microscope study. J Cell Biol. 1966 Feb;28(2):303–332. doi: 10.1083/jcb.28.2.303. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES