Abstract
Macrophages in synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RASF-Mφ) released prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) when they were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), aggregated-IgG (Agg-IgG) and opsonized-Zymosan (Zymosan) . Monocytes in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA-Mo) and normal subjects (healthy-Mo) similarly released PGE2 when they were stimulated by LPS, Agg-IgG and Zymosan. Healthy-Mo released more amount of PGE2 than RA-Mo. The reduced PGE2 release of RA-Mo might be due to the effect of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs taken by RA patients. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), in synovial fluid and peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis along with PMN of normal subjects, released little PGE2.
