Adhesion molecule expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in rheumatoid arthritis: positive correlation between the proportion of L-selectin and disease activity.

The expression of a series of adhesion molecules (the integrin family, the immunoglobulin superfamily, CD44 and the selectin family) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from RA patients was investigated by flow-cytometry. L-Selectin (CD62L) in the selectin family was more significantly expressed on PBMC from RA patients as compared to those from normal controls. Further, RA patients exhibited a slight but significant increase of VLA-alpha 2 (CDw49b), p150,95 (CD11c), and VNR-beta (CD61) in the integrin family. The enhanced expression of L-selectin was positively correlated with disease activity. An increase in the proportion of L-selectin+CD4+ cells in PBMC from patients with RA and its clinical significance is reported.