A search for viruses and mycoplasms in connective tissue diseases

Aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis: an attempt to transmit an infective agent from patients with rheumatoid arthritis to baboons

Thirty baboons were injected intravenously and intra-articularly with material from the joints of 19 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis or with control material. Fifteen of the 30 animals received synovial fluid cells or synovial membrane cells from 3 patients with seronegative arthritis. Ten animals received pooled cells from a total of 16 cases of seropositive arthritis. Five animals were given nonrheumatoid cells. No signs of arthritis were recognised in the 27 surviving animals during 3 years of observation. No significant biochemical, haematological, or serological changes occurred during this period, and no gross or microscopic evidence of synovial or systemic disease was found post mortem.

Mechanisms of action of gold

Since the successful introduction of injectable gold compounds for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis over 50 years ago, numerous studies on the possible mechanism of action have been performed. This heavy metal has been show to possess a bewildering array of biological effects. Studies using gold performed both in vitro and in vivo can be grouped into anti-microbial, anti-immunologic, anti-inflammatory, anti-enzymatic and other effects. In this survey, we have analyzed these multiple approaches to the study of the mechanism of action of injectable gold preparations and apply the findings to rheumatoid arthritis.

Search for viruses in rheumatoid macrophage-rich synovial cell populations

The adherent cells remaining after short-term culture of synovial fluid and synovial membrane cells from rheumatoid and non-rheumatoid patients were examined for the presence of a productive virus infection and for various viral antigens. Labelling was carried out with 3H-thymidine and 3H-uridine followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of the culture supernatant. Only in 1 case was there incorporation of 3H-uridine into material of density 1 . 21 g/cm3. Viral antigens were tested for by indirect immunofluorescence with antisera to rubella virus, the retroviruses RD-114 and simian sarcoma associated virus, early adenovirus type 2 antigens, late adenovirus type 2 antigens, SV-40 T antigen, and in 1 case measles virus. No cell showed immunofluorescence with any antiserum except the early adenovirus type 2 antiserum, which stained the cytoplasm of about half the synovial cell cultures, some from rheumatoid and some from non-rheumatoid patients.

The cytotoxicity of leukocytes and lymphocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis for synovial cells

Unseparated peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were cytotoxic for synovial cells. The cytotoxic reactions produced by RA leukocytes were more frequent and of greater magnitude than cytotoxicity induced by leukocytes from normal persons and patients with other diseases, primarily connective tissue diseases. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of RA leukocytes was greater for RA synovial cells than for nonrheumatoid synovial cells, in contrast to the cytotoxicity of other leukocytes, which did not discriminate between synovial cells according to their origin. Tests with purified lymphocytes showed that the cytotoxicity of unseparated leukocytes directed against RA synovial cells was due to lymphocyte cytotoxicity. These data are consistent with the possibility that sensitized lymphocytes from patients with RA recognize a distinctive antigen present on rheumatoid synovial cells.

Studies on the infectious etiology of human rheumatoid arthritis. II. Search for humoral and cell-bound antibodies against mycoplasmal antigens

A total of 29 rheumatoid patients and 19 nonrheumatoid patients were tested for evidence of present or past infection by M pneumoniae, M hominis, M fermentans, M arthritidis, M pulmonis, and M hyorhinis. The techniques of lymphocye transformation, metabolic-inhibiting antibody test, and mycoplasmcidal antibody test indicated no significant difference in the response of rheumatoid as opposed to nonrheumatoid patients.