Transferrin receptor bearing cells in the peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Activated, proliferating lymphocytes are a feature of rheumatoid arthritis. They are present both in the synovial membrane and in the peripheral circulation. The expression of transferrin receptors(TFR) is a good marker of cellular proliferation. This study shows increased levels of circulating TFR-bearing lymphocytes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The TFR+ population contains a disproportionately large number of T4+ cells, leading to a high T4:T8 ratio (5:1 in the TFR+ population, compared to 2:1 in the total circulating pool of lymphocytes). This reflects the pattern found in the rheumatoid synovium and suggests that lymphocyte activation in RA may be an extra-articular phenomenon. The TFR+ population also contains a range of non-T cells, including B cells, and a population bearing phenotypic similarities to natural killer (NK) cells.