Peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy donors and thirty one RA patients were cultured in the presence or in the absence of Phytohemagglutinine (PHA) for three days. Supernatant containig lymphotoxin (LT) was added to L cells, and LT activities were assessed. Although LT activities in 100-fold diluted supernatant from non stimulated lymphocytes were hardly detected in healthy donors, significantly high level of LT release was found in RA patients. There was no significant difference of LT release from PHA-stimulated lymphocytes of both groups.
LT activities in 10-fold diluted supernatant from non-stimulated lymphocytes in seropositive RA patients were significantly higher than those in seronegative RA patients. These findings suggest that LT could involve in the pathogenesis and the condition of RA.
