CD5 positive B lymphocytes in seronegative juvenile arthritis

We investigated the levels of circulating CD5+ B cells in 43 patients with seronegative, HLA-B27 negative juvenile arthritis, 7 patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (DM) and 10 children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We found that CD5+ B cell levels were high in juvenile arthritis (p <0.01), normal in juvenile DM and decreased in SLE (p <0.01) compared to 33 age matched controls. In juvenile arthritis, the increase of CD5+ B cells appeared to be independent of disease activity and was present in all the onset types except in a subset of patients with late onset pauciarthritis.