Lack of expression of c-myc oncogene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis

We looked for the expression of c-myc oncogene, one of the genes that enhance apoptosis, in 11 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) along with five patients with osteoarthritis (OA) knee as disease controls and six healthy volunteers. A dot-blot assay using a probe specific for c-myc oncogene was performed on total RNA obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. There was no expression in patients with active RA and healthy volunteers. one patient with OA expressed c-myc. Lack of expression of c-myc suggests that in active RA circulating lymphocytes are not in the replicative phase despite ongoing disease activity.