The T cell receptor repertoire in psoriatic synovitis is restricted and T lymphocytes expressing the same TCR are present in joint and skin lesions.

Objective: To investigate the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in psoriatic synovitis and to determine whether T lymphocytes in joint and skin lesions show the same Vbeta CDR3 region.

Methods: The expression of Valpha and Vbeta families was evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The CDR3 region of some Vbeta families was analyzed by cloning and sequencing.