AbstractInterleukin‐1 (IL‐1) is a macrophage derived mediator whose properties suggest that it could play a role in the pathology of arthritis. To test this hypothesis, joint fluids from patients with several different arthritides were tested. Small amounts of IL‐1‐like activity were recovered from many of these joint fluids after affinity chromatography over a column of rabbit anti‐human IL‐1. Positive fluids were obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, osteoarthritis, gout, and traumatic arthritis. Upon gel filtration, the joint derived factor displayed a molecular weight distribution similar to that of IL‐1 derived from human monocytes stimulated in vitro. These results suggest that IL‐1 is present in joint effusions and, therefore, might contribute to jo
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