Estimation of serum V kappa IIIb light chains in rheumatoid arthritis and correlation with CD5-positive B-cells

The presence of V kappa IIIb light chains in the sera of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has been evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). V kappa IIIb light chains have been confirmed to be largely restricted to IgM, and were rarely detected in the IgG fraction of sera. The concentration of total serum V kappa IIIb did not significantly vary with age, nor did it correlate with IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF) titre. Although total serum V kappa IIIb was not significantly increased in RA patients compared with matched controls, IgM-RFs frequently contained V kappa IIIb. Using flow cytometry, CD5-positive B-cells were not increased in these RA patients compared with healthy laboratory control personnel. Furthermore, there was no direct correlation between total serum IgM V kappa IIIb content and CD5-positive B-cell numbers in peripheral blood.