Yersinia arthritis: a clinical, immunological, and family study of 2 cases

Seronegative arthritis associated with serological evidence of Yersinia infection in Australia

Infection due to yersinia enterocolitica is a common antecedent illness in patients with reactive arthritis in Scandinavia, but appears to be less frequent in other countries. In order to examine the frequency of yersinia infection in patients with seronegative arthritis in Australia we examined 22 patients, 15 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and seven with Reiter's syndrome (RS). A sensitive ELISA assay was used to detect serum antibodies to the most common serotypes. Six patients (29%) had positive yersinia serology, all were HLA B27 and four had a history of diarrhea preceding the onset of their disease. Four patients with positive yersinia serology had AS and two had RS. Antibodies were directed against Y. enterocolitica biotype 0:3 in three cases, Y. enterocolitica 0:9 in two cases and Y. enterocolitica 0:8 in one subject. Twenty-nine control subjects (13 HLA B27) had no serum antibodies to yersinia. The results of this study indicate that preceding yersinia infection occurs in a significant (p less than 0.05; compared to controls) proportion of patients with HLA B27 related seronegative arthropathies.

Post-yersinial arthritis in Cleveland, England

Four cases of post-yersinial reactive arthritis are described. All patients presented with an acute lower limb arthropathy with features of an associated enthesopathy. Two patients had restriction of axial skeletal movements. Systemic features were prominent in three, including weight loss and malaise. Mean age of onset was 34 years. Three patients gave a history of antecedent diarrhoea within the previous month. Three patients had raised titres to Y enterocolitica type 0:3 (ranging from 1 in 320 to 1 in 2560) and one had raised titres to Y pseudotuberculosis type 2 at 1 in 640. Two of the three patients with Y enterocolitica reactive arthritis ran a chronic course with low grade arthropathy of lower limbs and back stiffness. One patient developed radiological sacroiliitis at two years, and two patients had an increased sacroiliac index, though x rays of the sacroiliac joints were normal. The patient with Y pseudotuberculosis reactive arthritis had a self limiting disease with spontaneous resolution over six months.

Yersinia specific immune complexes in the synovial fluid of patients with yersinia triggered reactive arthritis

Yersinia specific immune complexes were demonstrated in the synovial fluid of three patients out of 12 with yersinia triggered reactive arthritis. They were not detectable in the synovial fluid of any of the 16 control patients, including nine with reactive arthritis triggered by factors other than yersiniae. Platelet reactive IgG was detectable in the synovial fluid of eight out of the 12 patients with yersinia triggered reactive arthritis and in three of the 16 control patients, all three having rheumatoid arthritis. An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and a platelet 125I labelled staphylococcal protein A test were used to measure yersinia specific immune complexes and platelet reactive IgG respectively. The results obtained show for the first time the occurrence of bacterial antigens, derived from the causative strain, in the synovial fluid in yersinia triggered reactive arthritis.

Specific cell-mediated responses to bacterial antigens and clinical correlations in reactive arthritis, Reiter's syndrome and ankylosing spondylitis

In 2 cases of ReA seen during the acute phase and shown serologically to be due to Y. enterocolitica 0:3, the LT test showed a marked response using as antigen a freeze dried preparation of the causative organism. The test result correlated with the activity of the disease when repeated during a flare in the 1st case, and during remission in both. Patients with ReA/RS in general showed a significantly higher response to the yersinia and klebsiella antigens tested when compared to AS, suggesting an overall difference in cell-mediated immunity to these enteric bacteria. AS cases reacted significantly less than controls to K. pneumoniae under suboptimal conditions. K. pneumoniae was shown to enhance the LT response to yersinia, possibly through an adjuvant effect. This was found with AS, ReA and in controls, though whether it is of relevance in the etiopathogenesis of AS or ReA/RS remains far from clear. Acute non-traumatic synovitis of the knee, occurring de novo, or in association with psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, or as part of RS, may be accompanied by evidence of heightened reactivity to streptococci both by blood and synovial fluid mononuclear cells. In 1 case with serological evidence of streptococcal infection and erythema nodosum, these changes were found to parallel disease activity. ReA can, it appears, follow recent streptococcal infection, and be associated with B27.

Reactive arthritis due to Yersinia enterocolitica

Two cases are reported of a reactive arthritis due to infection with Yersinia enterocolitica. These are the fifth and sixth cases reported in the United Kingdom. This interesting cause of arthritis may be more common than previously thought and should be considered even in the United Kingdom, although the practical implications are limited.

Reactive arthritis

Although sometimes used to refer to any sterile arthritis occurring in association with infection, the term 'reactive arthritis' is better reserved for arthritis following sexually acquired nonspecific urethritis or enteric infections with organisms such as Shigella, Salmonella, Yersinia and Campylobacter, because these arthropathies are unified by a number of shared clinical characteristics and an association with HLA B27. This review suggests that these arthropathies may also share a common pathogenic pathway, triggered by an ' arthritogenic factor' common to the diverse microbes which cause the disease and modified by genetic factors other than HLA B27. Although uncommon, reactive arthritis is important because it could provide the key to understanding the other seronegative arthropathies and mechanisms basic to chronic inflammatory synovitis.