Analysis of human 65 kD heat shock protein mRNA using polymerase chain reaction in synovia of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

To examine the role of 65kD heat shock protein (HSP) on the etiology of RA, we investigated the expression of 65kD HSP mRNA in the synovia of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Synovial membranes from 10 patients with RA and 2 patients with non-inflammatory arthritis were examined for the expression of the 65kD HSP mRNA by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The mRNA of 65kD HSP was detected in all 10 samples from the RA patients and in the 2 samples from the patients with non-RA using semi-quantitative PCR and the difference in its expression level between the two groups was found not to be significant. By sequence analysis of the 412 bp PCR products, the 65kD HSP protein was confirmed to be human-origin. These data suggest that the 65kD HSP expressed in rheumatoid synovia is human origin and the lymphocytic reaction to the HSP may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.