![t cell repertoire t cell repertoire](https://www.cell.com/cms/attachment/2021046781/2041209607/gr2.jpg)
![t cell repertoire t cell repertoire](https://i1.rgstatic.net/publication/12355381_Evolution_of_the_CD8_T-cell_repertoire_during_infections/links/5a67a6c6aca2720266b5daa2/largepreview.png)
The majority of the repertoire is shared between patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and it is modulated by therapy. The collagen-specific T-cell receptor repertoire in peripheral blood and synovial fluid is restricted to a limited number of rearrangements in rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical relapse of the disease was associated with the appearance of the original collagen-specific T cells. Failure of immunoscopy to detect this repertoire was not due to suppression of collagen-driven proliferation in vitro by CD4 + CD25 + T cells. The specific T-cell repertoire in the periphery was modulated by therapy and decreased with the remission of the disease. Part of the antigen-specific T-cell repertoire is spontaneously enriched in synovial fluid. Although the size of the repertoire used by control individuals is comparable to that of patients, it is characterized by different T-cell receptors. Within the studied collagen-specific rearrangements, nearly 75% is shared among patients. The collagen-specific T-cell repertoire is quite restricted at the onset of disease, involving approximately 10 rearrangements. We used the CDR3 BV-BJ spectratyping to study the response to human collagen peptide 261–273 in 12 patients with DR4 + rheumatoid arthritis (six at the onset of disease and six during the course of disease) and in five healthy DR4 + relatives. The aim of the present study was to analyze the T-cell receptor repertoire at the onset of and at different phases in rheumatoid arthritis. Type II collagen is a DR4/DR1 restricted target of self-reactive T cells that sustain rheumatoid arthritis.