Objective:To investigate the possible role of chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) and macrophage inhibitory protein-1(MIP-1?) in pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods: Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine the serum expression of MCP-1 and MIP-1? in 17 patients with early active RA,18 with advanced active RA,and 15 healthy controls(all aged 18-79 years).Clinical activity indices such as the strength of grip,joint pain index,and joint swelling index were assessed in all subjects;and the serological indices such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),C-reactive protein(CRP),and rheumatoid factors were also determined.The relationships between serum levels of MCP-1, MIP-1? with the clinical activity indices and serological indices were analyzed.Results: The serum levels of MCP-1 in patients with early and advanced RA were higher than that in the controls(P

Objective To investigate the mechanism of hydrogen therapy for gouty arthritis,and provide new strategy for gout via a diet therapy by building up the crystal arthritis (gout) animal model.Methods Wistar rats (200±20) g were randomly divided into five groups which were consisted of five rats,including:the hydrogen-water model group,the hydrogen-feed model group,the hydrogen-water and hydrogenfeed model group,the control model group,and the blank group.And the first,the second,the third group collectively referred to as the hydrogen group.The rat model of acute gouty arthritis was established via injecting monosodium urate (MSU) in rats' ankles,after 14 days continuous feeding.On the third day after injection,serum samples were collected and analyzed.The swelling feet were removed and kept in the 40％ neutral formaldehyde for histochemicalstudies.During the three days after MSU injection,the volume of whole feet (including the ankle joint) was also recorded.The results were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and tamhane's T2 methods.Results In this study,a moderate elevated level of observed parameters,such as swelling joints numbers and inflammatory factor levels,was observed in the hydrogen feed model group than other groups.To measure the volume of rats' feet and found that the volume of feet of the control model group was 1.24 times (0.40±0.06,P＜0.05) as big as hydrogen group.And the TNF-α,IL-1,malondialdehyde in the serum of the hydrogen group were also less than those of the control model group.The contention of TNF-α of the control model group was 6.23 times (336±60,P＜0.05) as much as the hydrogen group.The contention of IL-1β of the control model group was 4.02 times (249±42,P＜0.05) as much as the hydrogen group.The contention of MDA of the control model group was 2.18 times (24±4,P＜0.05) as much as the hydrogen group.Conclusion The oral hydrogen intake has a definite therapeutic effect on controlling articular inflammation,which is helpful in exploring the dietary therapy for gouty arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous opinions consider the secondary diffuse osteoporosis as the very cause of vertebral fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). However, recent studies on bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral fractures in AS patients reveal that there is no relation between the two. This article aims at investigating the association of lumbar vertebral fractures with clinical, laboratory, and imaging indexes in AS patients.METHODS: A contrast observation was performed between 65 AS patients and 62 healthy physical examinees, whose lumbar vertebral plain radiographs were taken for checking vertebral fractures. Disease activity evaluation indexes included C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, finger-to-ground distance, Schobar's index score, Bath AS radiology index (BASRI) and syndesmophyte score. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry technique was used to measure BMD levels of lumbar vertebras and femurs.RESULTS: Out of the total 65 AS patients, 10 ones (15.4%) had lumbar vertebral fractures, with 4 ones with wedge deformities and the other 6 ones with biconcave deformities. BMD levels of Lumbar vertebras and femurs in AS patients were significantly lower than those in controls (P < 0.01). There were significant differences in Schober's index scores, finger-to-ground distance scores, Bath scores, syndesmophyta scores and intertrochanter BMD values between AS patients with and without vertebral fractures (P < 0.01 ). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that intertrochanter BMD values were independently associated with lumbar vertebral fractures in AS patients (P =0.043).CONCLUSION: There is a correlation between low femoral BMD levels and the risk of lumbar vertebral fractures in patients with AS, especially at the intertrochanter area.

Objective To characterize and quantify the CD4 +CD25 + regulatory T (Treg) cell population in peripheral blood of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to determine the influence of treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a inhibitors on them.Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from 25 patients with active AS,in which 10 patients were treated with 12 weeks of etanercept,and 21 healthy subjects.CD4+CD25high T cells were analyzed using flow cytometry,and mRNA expression of FOXP3 was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Proliferation of T cells to PHA was measured by WST-1 assay using depleted CD25+ cells by immunomagnetic sorting.Results There was no significant difference in the percentage of CD4+CD25high cells in peripheral blood between patients with active AS and controls (P＞0.05).However,PBMC from patients with active AS expressed reduced levels of FOXP3 mRNA (P＜0.01) which were inversely correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP)(P＜0.01).CD4+CD25+ cells in peripheral blood of both active AS patients and controls exhibited suppressive capacity on the proliferation of effector T cells in vitro (both P＜0.01).Treatment with etanereept increased significantly CD4+CD25high cells and FOXP3 mRNA expression (both P＜0.01),with negative correlations between these increases and decrease in CRP levels (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01,respectively).Conclusion In AS patients,peripheral FOXP3-expressing CD4 +CD25 + Treg cells are abnormal,and are up-regulated by etanercept treatment.This suggests a possible pathogenesis of AS and a potential mechanism for clinical efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors.

Objective To determine the sensitivity and specificity of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP antibodies) in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Method A total of 1018healthy donors, 212 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 435 patients with other connective tissue disease were recruited to this study. Anti-CCP antibodies and IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF) were determined by ELISA according to manufacturer instructions, with a cut-off of 20U. Result The frequency of positive anti-CCP antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is 48.1% (n = 102 ), higher than healthy donors (2.6%,n = 26) and patients with other connective tissue diseases (3.7%, n = 16). The specificity of anti-CCP antibodies is 97.4%. The titer of anti-CCP antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (429. 7 U) is much higher than that in healthy donors (29. 3 U ) and patients with other connective tissue diseases (36. 5 U). The frequency of positive IgM-RF in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is 94. 3% whilst only21.5% in healthy donors. The false positivity rate of IgM-RF is higher than anti-CCP antibody. Conclusion Anti-CCP antibodies is a highly specific autoantibody in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective To analyze the levels of T helper(Th)17-related cytokines interleukin(IL)-17,IL-22,IL-23 and IL-27 in plasma of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods Plasma IL-17,IL-22,IL-23 and IL-27 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 45SLE patients and 32 healthy controls and their associations with each other,disease activity and clinical features were evaluated.Results Plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-23 were significantly higher in SLE patients than in controls[77.8(25.4～487.6)pg/ml vs 36.4(15.7～338.2)pg/ml;14.7(<7.8～247.5) pg/ml vs <7.8(<7.8～81.7)pg/ml.both P<0.01].with no difference between active and inactive disease.In contrast,IL-22 levels were markedly decreased in SLE patients compared with the controls[77.4(<15.6～559.7)pg/ml vs 378.8(21.8～1154.2)pg/ml,P<0.01]and were lower in active disease than in inactive disease(P<0.01).IL-27 levels tended to be higher in SLE patients compared with controls,but the difference was not significant (P>0.05).A strong and positive correlation was found between IL-17 and IL-23 levels(P<0.01)in SLE patients.IL-22 levels were negatively correlated with SLEDAI score,erythrocyte sedimentation rate and antidsDNA antibody titers(all P<0.01),and positively correlated with C3 levels (P<0.05).Each cytokine levels were not related to specific manifestations and treatments.Conclusion Th17 cytokine response in peripheral blood of patients with SLE is abnormal.and IL-17 and IL-22 appear to play different roles in SLE pathophysiology.IL-23/IL-27 imbalance may contribute to the development of Th17-mediated inflammation in SLE.

Objective To evaluate the significance of serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and joint ultrasonography in assessing the activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing MMP-3 level and the ultrasonic 7 joints (US7) score in RA patients.Methods Serum MMP-3 level and US7 score were measured in 133 RA patients by immune turbidity and Doppler ultrasound.Synchronous 53 healthy subjects were recruited as controls.Clinical data were collected.Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),serum level of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody,health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) and disease activity score 28 (DAS28) were measured.The level of disease activity is interpreted as remission(DAS28 ＜2.6),low(DAS 28≥2.6-＜3.2),moderate(DAS 28≥3.2-＜5.1),high(DAS28≥5.1).The discriminating validity of MMP-3 and US7 score in disease was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with DAS28 as the reference standard.Results Compared with that in healthy controls [35.20(25.90,48.90) μg/L] and remission patients[33.40(22.60,678.40) μg/L],the MMP-3 level in moderate [105.1 (61.70,172.70) μg/L] and high [363.1 (161.50,475.90) μg/L]groups increased dramatically.US7 score in patients with high disease activity was significantly higher than that in other groups.The level of MMP-3 was significantly correlated with DAS28,HAQ,US7 score,yet did not have correlation with anti-CCP antibody.Serum level of MMP-3 was positively correlated with US7 score (r =0.566,P ＜ 0.001).In evaluating the disease activity,US7 score combined with MMP-3 (AUC 0.863 2) was not superior to MMP-3 alone (AUC 0.854 3),but significantly better than single US7 score (AUC 0.7643,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions MMP-3 is an effective and simple index in evaluating RA disease activity.The combination of MMP-3 and US7 score does not further improve the efficacy to evaluate disease activity than MMP-3 alone in patients with RA.

Objective To explore the effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) blockade therapy on circulating Th17 cell percentage and serum interleukin (IL)-17 level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Twenty-seven RA and 22 AS patients were recruited, of which 14 cases from both diseases received 40 weeks TNF blockade therapy. Twenty-four healthy blood donors were used as controls. The frequencies of circulating Th17 cells were determined by flowcytometry, and serum IL-17 level were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Results Significantly higher baseline circulating Th17 cells were observed in active RA and AS patients compared with the healthy controls[RA 1.03%(0.66%,1.78%) vs controls 0.50%(0.43%,0.67%), Z=-3.236, P<0.01; AS(1.16±0.09)%vs controls (0.59 ±0.061)% , t =5.226, P <0.01]. Similarly, serum IL-17 level were significantly elevated in patients with both diseases compared with controls[RA(32.3±2.5) pg/ml vs controls(14.3±2.5) pg/ml, t=5.070, P<0.01; AS 28.98(23.84,36.14) pg/ml vs controls 11.84(5.33,22.12) pg/ml, Z=-4.103, P<0.01]. After TNF-α blockade therapy, serum IL-17 was significantly decreased in both diseases groups[RA △(-13.5± 5.0) pg/ml and AS △(-16.0±1.9) pg/ml]. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the frequencies of circulating Th17 cells[RA △(0.104 5±0.212 6)% and AS △(0.002 5±0.183 8)%]. Conclusion Th17 cells and IL-17 have been implicated in the pathogenesis of RA and AS. TNF-α blockade can partially inhibit the function of Th17 cells. However, it is unable to reduce the frequencies of these cells in the circulation after 40 weeks therapy, which may explain the reasons for the relapse.

Objective To examine the suscepribility of the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in IL-1 gene in Chinese Han population to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods An correlation analysis was performed in a case-control cohort of 162 AS cases, 58 patients with other autoimmune diseases and 162 controls. Four SNPs located in the IL-1 gene (rs16944, rs3811058, rs419598, rs315952) were examined by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP). Results The frequencies of allele C at position rs16944, rs3811058, rs419598 significantly increased in AS cases VS controls, so did their genotype frequencies (50% vs 36.3%, 57.9% vs 52.8%, 45.7% vs 12.3%, P＜0.05). The SNPs of these sites significantly influenced the prevalence of AS. Conclusion We discover that SNPs of IL-1 gene Rs16944, Rs419598, Rs3811058 is closely related to the occurrence of AS.

Objective To study the serum levels of low molecule weight IgM (LMW IgM) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to evaluate the relationship of LMW IgM levels with the disease activities. Methods The levels of LMW IgM and pentameric IgM in AS patients, RA patients and healthy controls were measured with ELISA after separated using ultrafiltration assay. Differences in the percentage of LMW IgM between subject groups were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test. Results The percentages of LMW IgM increased dramatically in AS patients and RA patients compared with healthy controls (0.194 ± 0123, 0.061 ±0.026, 0.028 ±0.165 separately). The LMW IgM percentages were not correlated with the disease activities. Conclusion The increase of LMW IgM indicates humoral immune function abnormality in AS patients and RA. However, the mechanism needs further study.