Skip to main content
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1998 Nov;57(11):691–693. doi: 10.1136/ard.57.11.691

T cell derived cytokines in psoriatic arthritis synovial fluids

G Partsch 1, E Wagner 1, B Leeb 1, H Broll 1, A Dunky 1, J Smolen 1
PMCID: PMC1752505  PMID: 9924213

Abstract

OBJECTIVE—The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of T cell derived cytokines in the synovial fluids (SFs) of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in comparison with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).
METHODS—Th1 type cytokines (interleukin 2 (IL2), tumour necrosis factor β (TNFβ), and interferon γ (INFγ)) and Th2 type cytokines (IL4, IL10) were measured by means of enzyme linked immunosorbent assays.
RESULTS—IL2 was usually not detectable in any of the disease groups. TNFβ was found in 3 of 31 PsA SFs (mean (SEM) 11.1 (2.3) pg/ml) and in a significantly lower concentration than in 20 of the 40 RA SFs (42.2 (15.6) pg/ml; p < 0.002). INFγ was measurable in 2 of 10 PsA and 6 of 16 RA SFs (p > 0.05). IL4 was present at low concentrations in 4 of 22 PsA SFs (0.41 (0.8) pg/ml), and in 15 of 20 RA SFs (0.63 (0.09) pg/ml; p < 0.01). IL10 was found in 4 of 27 PsA SFs (12.3 (0.9) pg/ml) and in 27 of 32 RA SFs (37.3 (4.9) pg/ml; p < 0.0001). In all OA SFs cytokine concentrations were below the limit of detection.
CONCLUSION—The pattern of T cell derived cytokines in PsA SFs was similar to that of RA SFs. However, both the frequency and the concentrations of cytokines were lower in PsA SFs than in RA SFs, while OA SFs generally lacked any detectable T cell cytokines altogether. The presence of Th1 and Th2 cell derived cytokines in PsA SFs suggests the presence of activated T cells in the inflamed joint tissues and their participation in the immunoinflammatory events.

 Keywords: psoriatic arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis; cytokines; T cells; synovial fluids

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (122.0 KB).

Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

Concentrations of Th1 cell derived cytokines in synovial fluids ((shaded bars) mean concentration (SEM); solid line shows limit of detection). (A) TNFβ of patients with osteoarthritis (OA, n = 6), psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 31), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 40); (B) INFγ of patients with osteoarthritis (OA, n = 9), psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 10), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 16).

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

Concentrations of Th2 cell derived cytokines in synovial fluids ((shaded bars) mean concentration (SEM); solid line shows limit of detection). (A) IL4 of patients with osteoarthritis (OA, n = 15), psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 22), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 20); (B) IL10 of patients with osteoarthritis (OA, n = 16), psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 27), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 32).


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

RESOURCES