Interferon-gamma:interleukin 4 ratios and associated type 1 cytokine expression in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue.

Objective: To compare synovial tissue cytokine mRNA expression between patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and a heterogeneous group of non-autoimmune arthropathies (controls) with respect to type 1/type 2 balance.

Methods: Thirty-five JRA (average 9.1 years' disease duration) and 13 control synovial tissues were studied.