Analysis of T lymphocytes cloned from the synovial fluid and blood of a patient with Lyme arthritis.

Cloned T lymphocytes reactive with Borrelia burgdorferi proteins were isolated from a patient with chronic Lyme arthritis. All of the T cell clones which proliferated in response to Borrelia proteins were CD3 + CD4 + CD8 - TCR alpha beta + and HLA-DR restricted. One T cell clone (GN30) exhibited HLA-DR-restricted cytotoxic activity against antigen-presenting cells pulsed with Borrelia antigen. In response to Borrelia antigen, the T cell clones produced TNF-alpha, INF-gamma, and GM-CSF. There are at least three distinct spirochetal proteins recognized by the four T cell clones analyzed. Purified Borrelia proteins triggered the HLA-DR-restricted proliferative and cytotoxic responses, as well as lymphokine secretion by two of the T cell clones. The spirochetal protein which triggered the HLA-DR-restricted proliferative and cytotoxic activities of the T cell clone (GN30) isolated from synovial fluid is the 41 kd flagellar protein.