Emery P, Panayi G S, Welsh K I, Cole B C
J Rheumatol. 1985 Oct;12(5):859-64.
The disordered cellular immunity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was studied in vitro by assessing the stimulatory effect of tuberculin PPD, a mycoplasma product with major histocompatility complex restricted properties in mice (MAS) and concanavalin A (Con A) on RA and control cells of known tissue type. PPD provided the best discrimination between RA and controls (RA responses 34% of latter). The only significant association with HLA-DR type was that patients with RA who exhibited poor responsiveness to MAS had a significantly increased frequency of HLA-DR4.
