Back to Search
Start Over
Thymic function in juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Source :
- Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Objective: Thymic function declines exponentially with age. Impaired thymic function has been associated with autoimmune disease in adults but has never been formally assessed in childhood autoimmunity. Therefore, thymic function in children with the autoimmune disease juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) was determined. Methods: Thymic function was measured in 70 children and young adults with JIA (age range 2.1–30.8 (median 10.4)) and 110 healthy age-matched controls using four independent assays. T cell receptor excision circles (WBLogTREC/ml) and the proportion of CD4+ CD45RA+CD31+ T cells (representing recent thymic emigrants; %RTEs) were quantified and intrathymic proliferation measured by calculating the αTREC/ΣβTREC ratio. Lastly, regulatory T cells (TReg) of thymic origin (CD4+FOXP3+) were quantified in peripheral blood to assess the ability of the thymus in JIA to generate this T cell subset. Results: Thymic function was equivalent by all four parameters in JIA when compared with the control population. Furthermore, there was no consistent effect of JIA subtype on thymic function, although intrathymic proliferation was higher in the small rheumatoid factor (RF)+ polyarticular group. There were no significant effects of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or oral corticosteroids on thymic function, although those with the worst prognostic ILAR (International League of Associations for Rheumatology) subtypes were also those most likely to be on a DMARD. Conclusions: It is demonstrated that children and young adults with JIA, unlike adults with autoimmune diseases, have thymic function that is comparable with that of healthy controls. The varied pathologies represented by the term “JIA” suggest this observation may not be disease specific and raises interesting questions about the aetiology of thymic impairment in adult autoimmunity.
- Subjects :
- musculoskeletal diseases
Adult
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Aging
Adolescent
Immunology
Recent Thymic Emigrant
Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
Arthritis
Thymus Gland
medicine.disease_cause
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Autoimmunity
Young Adult
Sex Factors
Rheumatology
immune system diseases
T-Lymphocyte Subsets
Internal medicine
medicine
Immunology and Allergy
Humans
skin and connective tissue diseases
Child
Glucocorticoids
Basic and Translational Research
Cell Proliferation
Autoimmune disease
Analysis of Variance
business.industry
FOXP3
Forkhead Transcription Factors
medicine.disease
Connective tissue disease
Arthritis, Juvenile
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
Antirheumatic Agents
Case-Control Studies
Child, Preschool
Female
business
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Biomarkers
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14682060
- Volume :
- 68
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Annals of the rheumatic diseases
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2632785cbe876bd7e2698b22a051a2a0