The diagnostic category of rheumatoid arthritis, a syndrome of chronic inflammatory disease of the synovial membrane and of extraarticular tissues, covers a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes. Here we propose that distinct combinations of disease risk genes produce heterogeneity of rheumatoid disease. Recognition of this genetic and clinical heterogeneity has immediate implications as it provides the opportunity to develop selective therapies for the different variants of disease.
Since the discovery indicating that thymus derived lymphocytes (T cells) can be divided into two subpopulations: CD8+ (killer) and CD4+ (helper) cells, subsequent studies revealed bewildering heterogeneity of T cells. In the present review an attempt is made to present the actual picture of T cell heterogeneity, introduce some order into nomenclature and summarize the rules behind the development and selection of different, currently recognized T cell subsets.
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