Source
Department of Medical Microbiology, University College of Middlesex School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the claim that the human 60-kd heat-shock protein (HSP) is highly expressed in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but is not readily detected in normal tissues.
METHODS:
Monoclonal antibodies were raised against the human 60-kd mitochondrial heat-shock protein (P1 protein; hsp60), and their specificity was established. They were then applied to synovial tissue.
RESULTS:
HSP was expressed similarly in normal, osteoarthritic, and RA synovium. Low levels of hsp60 were detected in synovial fluid by immunoprecipitation.
CONCLUSION:
Minor differences in the distribution of hsp60 in synovium from RA joints were attributable to increased cellularity and to the disorganization of the tissue architecture.