Lymphocyte proliferation to artery antigen as a positive diagnostic test in polymyalgia rheumatica

The transformation response of peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro to human arterial and muscle antigen has been studied in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, and polyarteritis, and polyarteritis nodosa and in unrelated controls. Lymphocytes from patients with polymyalgia rheumatica showed transformation responses significantly higher to artery antigen than those in the other disease and control groups. The highest responses were found in patients with evidence of the most active clinical disease at the time of testing. It is suggested that the transformation response to arterial antigen might aid the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica.