Epstein-Barr Virus correlates with severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis
WESTPORT, Aug 2000 (Reuters Health) - Patients with the most severe rheumatoid arthritis exhibit the lowest immune cellular response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) glycoprotein gp110, researchers report in the July issue of the Annals of the Rheumatoid Diseases.
They say that the finding supports previous reported evidence that an altered immune response to EBV antigens may influence the course of rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Eric Toussirot, of the University Hospital J Minjoz, in Besancon, France, and colleagues assessed the frequencies of peripheral blood T cells specific for gp110 in 25 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 25 controls.
The patients had a lower mean gp110 T-cell precursor frequency than did healthy controls, Dr. Toussirot's group reports. The investigators found no difference between the two groups in levels of a control protein.
Both erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels were negatively correlated with the gp110 T-cell response. Furthermore, Dr. Toussirot and colleagues detected the lowest immune cellular response to EBV gp110 in patients with the most severe disease.
The authors hypothesize that 'since gp110 is an important protein in the control of EBV replication, [the decreased T-cell response to EBV gp110] might lead to a poor control of EBV infection, chronic exposure to other EBV antigens, and thus to a chronic inflammatory response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.'
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