Synovial fluid neutrophils transcribe and express class II major histocompatibility complex molecules in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a potential interaction between neutrophils and T cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), by defining the optimal conditions for induction of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression on peripheral blood neutrophils in vitro and investigating the capacity for neutrophils to express class II MHC molecules in RA.
METHODS: Surface expression of class II MHC and costimulatory molecules by peripheral blood and synovial fluid (SF) neutrophils obtained from healthy controls and patients with RA was measured by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Intracellular class II MHC protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) were detected by Western blotting and Northern blotting, respectively.
RESULTS: Freshly isolated peripheral blood neutrophils from controls did not express surface class II MHC; expression was induced by culture with appropriate cytokines. Freshly isolated peripheral blood neutrophils from patients with RA expressed mRNA, but there was no surface expression of class II MHC. Freshly isolated SF neutrophils from patients with RA contained high levels of class II MHC mRNA, did not express surface class II MHC, but did have large intracellular amounts of this protein as detected by Western blotting. After culture for 20 hours in vitro, SF neutrophils from RA patients expressed large amounts of surface class II MHC but very low levels of costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. Fluorescence microscopy localized surface class II MHC to discrete areas on the neutrophil. Class II MHC-expressing neutrophils stimulated T cell proliferation.
CONCLUSION: Peripheral blood neutrophils from patients with RA but not healthy controls express class II MHC mRNA. SF neutrophils in RA synthesize and express large amounts of class II MHC but not costimulatory molecules. This might underlie a novel interaction with T cells that is important in terms of disease pathology.