Expression of costimulatory molecule and activation marker on lymphocytes with rheumatoid arthritis by flow cytometry

Objective To research the expression of costimulatory molecule and activation marker on lymphocytes in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify their role in the pathogenesis of RA.Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of costimulatory molecule CD28/B7(CD80,CD86) ,CD154(CD40L)/CD40 and activation marker CD25,HLA-DR on peripheral blood and synovial fluid lymphocytes in the patients with RA.Results Compared with control group,the expression of CD86 on peripheral blood B lymphocytes in the patients with RA was obviously decreased (P0.01),the expression of CD40 was also significantly increased (P0.05).No statistically significant differences in peripheral blood B lymphocytes expressing CD80,T lymphocytes expressing CD28,CD154 and in synovial fluid lymphocytes expressing costimulatory molecule between RA group and control group were observed,and there are no differences(P0.05). Comparing with control group,the expression of CD25 on peripheral blood T and B lymphocytes in the patients with RA was obviously increased (P0.01),the expression of CD25 on synovial fluid B lymphocytes and HLA-DR on synovial fluid T and B lymphocytes were also significantly increased(P0.01).Conclusion The disorder expression of costimulatory molecule and activation marker on lymphocytes in the patients with RA may be play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.These will give us a new idea on the diagnostic and therapeutic strategy of RA.