# ETIOLOGY OF RHEUMATIOD ARTHRITIS AN SLE

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 1990 · $150,756

## Abstract

There has long been evidence that RA, the reactive arthritides
(including AIDS-associated Reiter's syndrome) and related disorders all
involve both genetic and infectious etiologic factors.  Recently,
increased attention is focusing on the role of the suspected infectious
etiologic components of these diseases.

In the past, an immense effort has been made to detect such agents in
these disorders using chiefly culture and immunologic methods, without
notable success.  These approaches suffer from the need for prior
knowledge about the growth requirements or immunology of the organisms
being sought and, therefore, have been narrow in scope.  Thus, the many
negative results obtained cannot easily be interpreted.  To justify
another such effort, it is essential to overcome these limitations.  The
present approach is believed largely to achieve this.  It employs
advances in molecular biology and knowledge of ribosomal base sequences
that have become available in the past 2-3 years and can detect most or
all eubacteria, a group which contains essentially all prokaryotes of
medical significance, including Chlamydiae and Rickettsiae, in clinical
specimens, with a sensitivity equivalent to the DNA content of 10 E.
coli organisms.  It employs synthetic oligonucleotides with broad
eubacterial homology to amplify microbial DNA extracted from clinical
specimens by the polymerase chain reaction (PC).  Detected organisms can
be characterized sufficiently well to help distinguish contaminants from
true pathogens.  In addition to fresh specimens, formalin-fixed,
embedded pathology specimens can also be studied, thus allowing
examination of otherwise rare tissues.  Studies of known septic
arthritis demonstrated the feasibility of this method.  Most
interestingly, preliminary data on RA have provided evidence for the
presence of eubacteria in synovial fluid cells, with negative controls
from gout and osteoarthritis.  By extending and confirming these
results, exploring related disorders including AIDS-associated Reiter's
syndrome, and elucidating the etiologic significance fo detected
organisms, information central to the understanding and management of
these diseases may be obtained.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3156554
- **Project number:** 7R01AR033278-08
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **SAM.gov UEI:** M746VC6XMNH9
- **Principal Investigator:** CHARLES R STEINMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1990
- **Award amount:** $150,756
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 1990-09-01 → 1992-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3156554

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3156554, ETIOLOGY OF RHEUMATIOD ARTHRITIS AN SLE (7R01AR033278-08). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3156554. Licensed CC0.

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