Rheumatoid Arthritis Leuko Pak / Whole Blood / Plasma / PBMCs

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints, causing cartilage and bone damage as well as disability. The immune system of the affected patients produce autoantibodies targeting self epitopes. Chronic inflammation of the synovium at the joints of RA patients is characterized by interactions of resident cells such as fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) with cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. This causes the tissue of the synovium to thicken, resulting in swelling and pain in and around the joints. If inflammation goes unchecked, it can damage cartilage, the elastic tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint, as well as the bones themselves. Over time, there is loss of cartilage, and the joint spacing between bones can become smaller. Joints can become loose, unstable, painful and lose their mobility. Joint deformity also can occur. Joint damage cannot be reversed.  It is a systemic illness that can also include inflammation in tissues of the heart, lungs and eyes. Both genetic and envioremental factors influence the pathogenesis of RA.

Leuko paks are obtained when they become available to our network of clinicians, by a donation process where blood is withdrawn from the donor via leukapheresis utilizing an apheresis machine such as the COBE Spectra Optia®. The donor’s white blood cells are selectively collected and the remaining blood is reinfused to the body.  We can also collect whole blood and plasma samples from the patients. Some disease types may have a long backorder depending on the frequency of the disease occurrence in the general population.

HumanCells’ Rheumatoid Arthritis products are obtained from patient donors who are fully consented and IRB approved.