Sialyl Lewisx expression on IgG in rheumatoid arthritis and other arthritic conditions:: a preliminary study

Both infiltrating leukocytes and soluble immunoglobulin form aggregates in synovial fluid during the inflammatory process in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Some of these changes are probably mediated by the adhesion molecule, E-selectin, which increases its expression with disease activity. As glycosylation changes in IgG in RA are well established, the current study was undertaken to measure the expression of the carbohydrate antigen sialyl Lewis x (sLe(x)), on IgG in RA. sLe(x) is a major ligand for E-selectin. Using a recently developed ELISA, sLe(x) expression was determined in IgG isolated from 8 healthy individuals, 20 RA sufferers (10 early and 10 with more long-standing disease) and 20 patients with other rheumatic conditions (osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus). S Le(x) expression on IgG was elevated above the reference range in all but one of the RA patients and this change was highly significant (P < 0.0006). Expression of this antigen on IgG was also significantly different from normal in the other arthritic groups (P < 0.02), but the changes were much less than that observed for RA. In early RA, sLe(x) was inversely correlated with parameters used to measure disease activity. This was not observed with the established RA, where there was weak positive association. These preliminary results indicate that a change in sLe(x) expression on IgG is an early finding in the development of RA, which may be important in the development of the disease or for predicting its outcome.