# CELLULAR BASIS & CONTROL OF RHEUMATOID FACTOR PRODUCTION

> **NIH NIH R01** · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · 1987 · $163,165

## Abstract

As the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis is still obscure despite its
widespread prevalence, a system to study rheumatoid factro, cross-reactive
idiotypic expression offers insight into this disease.  Rheumatoid factors
have been imiplicated as mediators in synovial tissue destruction.  Their
role as to cause or effect in the disease process is still obscure.  The
demonstration of a strong similarity among rheumatoid factors, monoclonal
IgM proteins' specific antigenic determinants (idiotypes), from patients
with Waldenstroms' macroglobulinaemia, suggests a system to study the
expression of this rheumatoid factor cross-reactive idiotype in a
polyclonal disease, namely rheumatoid arthritis.  We have already
demonstrated a marked increase in the expression of rheumatoid
cross-reactive idiotype (RCRI), positive plasma cells induced by pokeweek
mitogen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (11-21% of total plasma cells
derived from peripheral blood lymphoclytes) as compared to 1-3% in normal
controls.  We plan to extend our series of rheumatoid patients to include
those whose sera are negativefor rheumatoid factor but possess the clinical
disease.  Monomeric IgM found in the sera and synovial fluid of some
patients with rheumatoid arthritis will be examined for the presence of the
RCRI despite their inability to bind aggregated human IgG, possibly because
of decreased avidity of the monomer as opposed to the pentamer.  The T cell
compartment in rheumatoid patients will be assayed in vitro with normal B
cells to question its role in inducing the increased expression of RCRI in
PWM cultures.  Finally an attempt to produce a monoclonal anti-RCRI reagent
to study the idiotype expression in pokeweed induced plasma cells from
patients with seropositive and negative rehumatoid arthritis will be
pursued to obtain a standardized reagent possibly useful as a definite
assay for some rheumatoid factors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3156152
- **Project number:** 5R01AR031936-05
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** F4N1QNPB95M4
- **Principal Investigator:** BENVENUTO G PERNIS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $163,165
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-08-01 → 1988-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3156152

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3156152, CELLULAR BASIS & CONTROL OF RHEUMATOID FACTOR PRODUCTION (5R01AR031936-05). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3156152. Licensed CC0.

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