Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1975 Feb;28(2):109–117. doi: 10.1136/jcp.28.2.109

Immunopathological changes in rheumatoid arthritis and other joint diseases.

T Ghose, J F Woodbury, S Ahmad, B Stevenson
PMCID: PMC475608  PMID: 1092716

Abstract

A comparative study of the distribution of immunoglobulins G, M, and A and C3 in the synovium and inside synovial fluid leucocytes and of the relative levels of IgG, IgM, AND C3 in paired samples of serum and synovial fluid from both seropositive and seronegative patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other types of non-infective synovitis shows that although there is no distinctive immunopathological feature of rheumatoid arthritis, the incidence of immune complexes containing IgG and IgM with and without detectable C3 in the affected synovium or inside synovial fluid granulocytes is higher in rheumatoid arthritis and especially so in seropositive cases. The mean level of C3 in synovial fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis is lower than that from the group without rheumatoid arthritis. In contrast to previous reports, extracellular clumps of IgA could be detected in the affected synovium of a number of affected patients. Aggretated human IgG could be bound by some of the synovial biopsies and synovial fluid leucocytes from both seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis patients. Antinuclear factor and rheumatoid factor could be detected in the synovial fluid but not in the serum of several patients suggesting either selective sequestration or local synthesis of antinuclear and rheumatoid factors in the affected joints.

Full text

PDF
109

Images in this article

112Image
on p.112
112Image
on p.112
112Image
on p.112
113Image
on p.113

Selected References

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

  1. Bonomo L., Tursi A., Trizio D., Gillardi U., Dammacco F. Immune complexes in rheumatoid synovitis: a mixed staining immunofluorescence study. Immunology. 1970 Apr;18(4):557–563. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Britton M. C., Schur P. H. The complement system in rheumatoid synovitis. II. Intracytoplasmic inclusions of immunoglobulins and complement. Arthritis Rheum. 1971 Jan-Feb;14(1):87–95. doi: 10.1002/art.1780140111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cracchiolo A., 3rd, Goldberg L. S. Elution of antiglobulins and antinuclear antibody from rheumatoid synovial membrane. Ann Rheum Dis. 1972 May;31(3):186–191. doi: 10.1136/ard.31.3.186. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Crocker J. F., Ghose T., Rozee K., Woodbury J., Stevenson B. Arthritis, deformities, and runting in C5-deficient mice injected with human rheumatoid arthritis synovium. J Clin Pathol. 1974 Feb;27(2):122–124. doi: 10.1136/jcp.27.2.122. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. GHOSE T., NAIRN R. C., FOTHERGILL J. E. Uptake of proteins by malignant cells. Nature. 1962 Dec 15;196:1108–1109. doi: 10.1038/1961108b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ghose T., Landrigan P., Asif A. Localization of immunoglobulin and complement in pulmonary sarcoid granulomas. Chest. 1974 Sep;66(3):264–268. doi: 10.1378/chest.66.3.264. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ghose T., Landrigan P., Killeen R., Dill J. Immunopathological studies in patients with farmer's lung. Clin Allergy. 1974 Jun;4(2):119–129. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1974.tb01369.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ghose T., Quigley J. H., Landrigan P. L., Asif A. Immunoglobulins in aqueous humour and iris from patients with endogenous uveitis and patients with cataract. Br J Ophthalmol. 1973 Dec;57(12):897–903. doi: 10.1136/bjo.57.12.897. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hijmans W., Schuit H. R., Klein F. An immunofluorescence procedure for the detection of intracellular immunoglobulins. Clin Exp Immunol. 1969 Apr;4(4):457–472. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McGiven A. R., Ghose T. Antinuclear factor in NZB-NZW mice: incidence and in vitro effects. Clin Exp Immunol. 1968 Sep;3(7):657–663. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McGiven A. R., Ghose T., Nairn R. C. Autoantibodies in ulcerative colitis. Br Med J. 1967 Apr 1;2(5543):19–23. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5543.19. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Munthe E., Natvig J. B. Complement-fixing intracellular complexes of IgG rheumatoid factor in rheumatoid plasma cells. Scand J Immunol. 1972;1(3):217–229. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1972.tb01813.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pruzanski W., Russell M. L., Gordon D. A., Ogryzlo M. A. Serum and synovial fluid proteins in rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative joint diseases. Am J Med Sci. 1973 Jun;265(6):483–490. doi: 10.1097/00000441-197306000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. RIGGS J. L., LOH P. C., EVELAND W. C. A simple fractionation method for preparation of fluorescein-labeled gamma globulin. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1960 Dec;105:655–658. doi: 10.3181/00379727-105-26207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ruddy S., Austen K. F. Activation of the complement system in rheumatoid synovitis. Fed Proc. 1973 Feb;32(2):134–137. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Torrigiani G., Roitt I. M. Antiglobulin factors in sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and normal subjects. Quantitative estimation in different immunoglobulin classes. Ann Rheum Dis. 1967 Jul;26(4):334–340. doi: 10.1136/ard.26.4.334. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tursi A., Trizio D., Bonomo L. An immunofluorescence mixed staining technique for the detection of IgG-rheumatoid factor and IgG-beta-1C complexes in tissues. Clin Exp Immunol. 1970 May;6(5):767–772. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Vaughan J. H., Barrnett E. V., Sobel M. V., Jacox R. F. Intracytoplasmic inclusions of immunoglobulins in rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. Arthritis Rheum. 1968 Apr;11(2):125–134. doi: 10.1002/art.1780110202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Winchester R. J., Agnello V., Kunkel H. G. Gamma globulin complexes in synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Partial characterization and relationship to lowered complement levels. Clin Exp Immunol. 1970 May;6(5):689–706. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Ziff M. Pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis. Fed Proc. 1973 Feb;32(2):131–133. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Zvaifler N. J., Martinez M. M. Antinuclear factors and chronic articular inflammation. Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Feb;8(2):271–278. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Zvaifler N. J. The immunopathology of joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Adv Immunol. 1973;16(0):265–336. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2776(08)60299-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES