Peripheral Blood T Lymphocytes from Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Express RANKL and Interleukin-15 on the Cell Surface and Promote Osteoclastogenesis in Autologous Monocytes

Objective: To investigate the osteoclastogenic potential of T cells from the peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on autologous monocytes, and to study the cytokines implicated in this process.

Methods: T cells and monocytes were isolated from the PB of 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with early RA, and from the SF of 20 patients with established RA. Autologous T cell/monocyte cocultures were established in the absence of exogenous cytokines or growth factors in order to examine spontaneous ex vivo osteoclast differentiation by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining and calcified matrix resorption activity.

Results: Surface RANKL was expressed on freshly isolated T cells from the PB of patients with early RA and the SF of patients with established RA. In addition, surface interleukin-15 (IL-15) was detected on freshly isolated T cells and monocytes from the PB of patients with early RA and the SF of patients with established RA. Autologous T cell/monocyte cocultures derived from the SF of patients with established RA and from the PB of patients with early RA, but not from the PB of healthy controls, resulted in osteoclast differentiation that was significantly inhibited by osteoprotegerin (OPG) and by neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to IL-15, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), and IL-1beta. OPG, anti-TNFalpha, and anti-IL-1beta demonstrated a cooperative inhibitory effect. At 1-year followup, surface RANKL and IL-15 and ex vivo osteoclastogenesis were no longer observed on PB T cells or monocytes from patients with early RA in whom clinical remission had been achieved with treatment.

Conclusion: T cells are important contributors to the pathogenesis of bone erosions in RA through interaction with osteoclast precursors of the monocyte/macrophage lineage.