The binding to human lymphocytes of arthritogenic and non-arthritogenic bacteria

The frequency of attachment of postulated arthritogenic bacteria to lymphocytes from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and from healthy controls was examined using a fluorescent labelling technique. No significant differences in attachment frequency were seen with the arthritogenic or control bacterial strains between the patient and control groups using an "immediate" rosette assay. However, after overnight incubation at 37 degrees C, Klebsiella K43 and Escherichia coli bound significantly more frequently to lymphocytes when compared with rosettes examined without prior incubation. With this modified bacterial attachment test cells from patients with AS bound significantly more Klebsiella K43 and E. coli than did the cells from controls (2 p less than 0.05 and 2 p less than 0.001 respectively). No differences in binding were seen with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 03. These results discount the idea of a specific receptor for arthritogenic bacteria being present on the surface of lymphocytes from AS patients.