HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Expression pattern of cell cycle-related gene products in synovial stroma and synovial lining in active and quiescent stages of rheumatoid arthritis

B. Helmchen1,*, H. Weckauf1,*, V. Ehemann1, I. Wittmann1, C. Meyer-Scholten2 and I. Berger1

1Institute of Pathology, University of Heidelberg, Germany and 2Centre of Rheuma-Pathology, WHO-collaborating Center, Mainz, Germany
*Contributed equally to this work

Offprint requests to: Birgit Helmchen, Pathologisches Institut der Universität Heidelberg. Im Neuenheimer Feld 220/221, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Fax: 0049 (6221)-565251.e-mail: birgit.helmchen@med.uni-heidelberg.de


Summary. Objective: To investigate the expression pattern of cell cycle related gene products in active and quiescent Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Synovial tissue from 20 patients with active proliferative RA and 28 patients with RA in remission was immunohistochemically examined for expression of p53, p63, p21, p27, p16, cyclin D1, CDK4, RB, E2F, Ki-67 on tissue microarrays and by DNA flow cytometry for cell cycle phases. Results: Elevated expression of p53 and p27 was found in synovial lining and in stromal cells in proliferative active RA. In the remission stage this finding was confined to the synovial lining. Most of the cells were in the G0-phase. Ki-67 proliferation index was maximum 10% in synovial cells. Conclusion: The p53 pathway is activated in synovial cells in active RA as well as in quiescent stage of disease. Differences in the spatial expression pattern of proteins involved in the p53 pathway in RA in remission compared to actively proliferating RA reflect the phasic nature of the disease and support in our opinion the concept of adaptive role of p53 pathway in RA. Histol Histopathol 20, 365-372 (2005)

Key words: Cell cycle proteins, RA, Tissue array

DOI: 10.14670/HH-20.365