Abstract
Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production by unstimululated and stimulated neutrophils from peripheral bloods of normal persons and rheumatoid arthritis patients and from rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluids were examined. Spontaneous production of LTB4 was observed in neutrophils from rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluids but not in peripheral blood neutrophils from rheumatoid arthritis and normal persons. Synovial fluid neutrophils produced significantly higher amounts of LTB4 than peripheral neutrophils of rheumatoid arthritis patients or normal persons, whether neutrophils were stimulated or not. Recombinant human IL-1B did not stimulate LTB4 production by neutrophils. Tiopronin, a SH group-containing compound, inhibited neutrophil LTB4 production.
These results indicate that LTB4 plays an important role in rheumatoid joint inflammation.
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