Electrophoretic behaviour of blood and synovial fluid lymphocytes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Probit analysis of the electrophoretic mobilities of human blood lymphocytes identifies at least three main subpopulations. According to their rate of movement in an electrical field, the subpopulations are referred to as the fast, intermediate and slow cell distributions. Lymphocytes of the fast and intermediate populations appear to be T cells, while the slow cell population includes cells with B cell characteristics. Compared with normal subjects, lymphocytes of intermediate mobility are significantly increased in the blood of rheumatoid patients and comprise a major fraction of the lymphocyte exudate in rheumatoid synovial fluid.