T-cell receptor beta-chain gene rearrangements of T-cell populations expanded from multiple sites of synovial tissue obtained from a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

In this study T-cell receptor (TcR) beta-chain gene rearrangements of T-cell lines prepared from multiple sites (n = 92) of synovial tissue derived from both knees of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis were analysed. In the majority of T-cell lines, dominant TcR beta-chain gene rearrangements were detected, involving C beta 1 as well as C beta 2. The dominant rearrangement patterns of T-cell lines from different tissue fragments showed significant variability, but some of the DNA restriction fragments were shared by T-cell lines from multiple sites in both knees. The latter observation suggests that identical T-cell clones may be present at different sites in the synovial tissue and in different joints. However, since many T-cell lines yielded different rearrangement patterns, these data also indicate considerable heterogeneity of T cells in the joints. Apart from theoretical implications, this TcR heterogeneity of T cells within an individual patient also has practical consequences for studies on synovial T cells obtained by biopsy.