METHOD FOR ASSESSING AUTOIMMUNE ARTHRITIS, AND SCREENING METHOD FOR SUBSTANCES INHIBITING ACTIVITY OF AUTOIMMUNE ARTHRITIS-INDUCING T CELLS

摘要

Provided are a method for assessing the onset or the likelihood of onset of autoimmune arthritis, characterized by detecting CD4-positive T cells that react with (1) anti-ribosomal protein L23a antibodies or (2) ribosomal protein L23a, present in a specimen derived from a test subject; and a screening method for substances that inhibit the activity of autoimmune arthritis-inducing T cells, characterized by including a step of bringing a test substance into contact with T cells that react with ribosomal protein L23a, a step of bringing ribosomal protein L23a or fragments thereof into contact with the T cells, a step of measuring proinflammatory cytokines secreted by the T cells, and a step of analyzing test subject-dependent changes in proinflammatory cytokines secretion levels.