In vitro lymphocyte cytotoxicity to cultured human arterial smooth muscle cells in patients with giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Lymphocytes from polymyalgia rheumatica patients and controls were cultured with allogenic human arterial smooth muscle cells in order to demonstrate any difference in cytotoxic response. Thirty to 40% of the muscle cell cultures were killed at 24 h by lymphocytes from both the patients and controls.