TY - JOUR
T1 - Thymus variants on imaging in patients with rheumatoid arthritis - Clinical and immunological significance
AU - Murata, Okinori
AU - Suzuki, Katsuya
AU - Sugiura, Hiroaki
AU - Kondo, Yasushi
AU - Takeshita, Masaru
AU - Koga, Keiko
AU - Takiguchi, Maiko
AU - Kurisu, Rina
AU - Kassai, Yoshiaki
AU - Yasuoka, Hidekata
AU - Yamaoka, Kunihiro
AU - Morita, Rimpei
AU - Yoshimura, Akihiko
AU - Takeuchi, Tsutomu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Objectives: We sought to clarify the presence of radiographic thymus variants using a scoring system, and their association with clinical and immunological features in RA patients. Methods: A total of 387 RA patients were randomly selected from all patients visiting our department who underwent chest CT scanning, with exclusion of patients with thymoma or thymic cyst, or age < 30 years. Thymus size and attenuation score in axial CT images were quantitatively interpreted and assessed. Associations between immunophenotype data and clinical and serological features were analysed in a subset of patients. Results: Thymic enlargement was found in 76 (19.6%) patients, and a thymus attenuation score ≥ 2 was found in 50 (12.9%) patients. The score was significantly associated with antibodies to ACPA positivity. Thymic enlargement was significantly associated with the proportions of CD4+ effector memory T cells. Conclusion: Radiographic thymus variants were frequently observed in RA patients and may reflect an abnormal immune response involved in the pathogenesis of RA.
AB - Objectives: We sought to clarify the presence of radiographic thymus variants using a scoring system, and their association with clinical and immunological features in RA patients. Methods: A total of 387 RA patients were randomly selected from all patients visiting our department who underwent chest CT scanning, with exclusion of patients with thymoma or thymic cyst, or age < 30 years. Thymus size and attenuation score in axial CT images were quantitatively interpreted and assessed. Associations between immunophenotype data and clinical and serological features were analysed in a subset of patients. Results: Thymic enlargement was found in 76 (19.6%) patients, and a thymus attenuation score ≥ 2 was found in 50 (12.9%) patients. The score was significantly associated with antibodies to ACPA positivity. Thymic enlargement was significantly associated with the proportions of CD4+ effector memory T cells. Conclusion: Radiographic thymus variants were frequently observed in RA patients and may reflect an abnormal immune response involved in the pathogenesis of RA.
KW - B cell
KW - T cell
KW - computed tomography
KW - rheumatoid arthritis
KW - systemic autoimmune diseases
KW - thymus
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85122546333
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85122546333#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1093/rheumatology/keab164
DO - 10.1093/rheumatology/keab164
M3 - Article
C2 - 33590850
AN - SCOPUS:85122546333
SN - 1462-0324
VL - 60
SP - 5595
EP - 5600
JO - Rheumatology (United Kingdom)
JF - Rheumatology (United Kingdom)
IS - 12
ER -