HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION AND CYTOKINE ALTERATION IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

CHENG S-Q, ZHANG G-C, XU D-L, LI Q, MA Z-S

Department of Pediatrics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, China

 

Objective: To investigate parvovirus B19 infection and cytokine(CK)

alteration of IL-6, IL-8, sIL-2R and TNF-a in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

Methods: The blood serum (BS) of 23 with RA and 30 with JRA, the bone marrow of 22 with RA and 26 with JRA and the synovial fluid (SF) of 4 with JRA, 6 with osteoarthritis (OA) and 9 with meniscitis (MT) were analyzed by means of nested PCR and ELISA.

Results: (1) Of 23 with RA and 30 with JRA, BS B19-DNA was positive in 12 of each with the positive rates of 52.1% and 40%, and positive rates of B19-IgM was 33.3% and 35.5% respectively, which showed a striking difference between the control groups (p<0.05). (2) B19-DNA was positive in 12 in the bone marrow of 26 with JRA, while13 in that of 22 with RA, both groups showed a striking difference compared with the control groups ( p<0.05). (3) B19-DNA was positive in the SF of 3 among 4 with JRA, while it being negative in 6 with OA and 9 with MT. (4) BS in 23 with RA and 30 with JRA was rather different from that of control group in IL-6 and SIL-2R (p<0.01), there being difference in 30 with JRA in IL-8 (p<0.05). (5) No striking difference existed in the four above CK in B19-DNA positive group and negative group in 23 with RA and 30 with JRA.(p>0.05).(6) In SF samples, sIL-2R of 4 with JRA was rather different from the other two groups(p<0.01).

Conclusions:  (1) JRA and RA patients are faced with high B19 infection, which is closely related with RA and JRA. (2) IL-6 and sIL-2R exhibit a close correlation with the activity of RA and JRA, which is the main index of JRA activity. (3) sIL-2R is perhaps one of the main kinds of CK in the participation of local pathological joint injury. (4) There was no relationship between CK levels in BS and B19 infection, that is to say, B19 might not be the only factor leading to RA and JRA.

 

 
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