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We examined patients with rheumatoid arthritis for cellular sansitivity to native human Types I, II and III collagens. Mononuclear cells from 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 21 with other inflammatory arthritides, 20 with osteoarthritis and 20 normal subjects were evaluated for the in vitro production of leukocyte inhibitory factor in response to collagen and a control antigen, streptokinase-streptodornase. By this assay, cells from 37 (74 per cent) and 39 (78 per cent) of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis responded to Types II and III collagens, respectively. In contrast, cells from the 41 patients with other kinds of arthritis and the normal group did not produce this lymphokine to collagens. There was no response to Type I collagen or to denatured alpha chains of these collagens. All four groups responded equivalently to streptokinase-streptodornase. These data demonstrate that most patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibit cellular sensitivity to Types II and III collagens.

SUMMARY The ultrastructure of the reservoir region of Phacus pleuronectes is described. Thin sections, ruthenium red staining, and shadow‐cast preparations elucidate relationships and structural details of the flagella and flagellar hairs or mastigonemes. A heretofore undescribed structure in Phacus, the multitubular structure (MTS), with associated fibrillar projections, is reported. The MTS is located in the cytoplasm at the distal region of the reservoir near the contractile vacuole. A coordinated function of the MTS and adjacent fibrillar projections is suggested. The occurrence of mastigonemes along the entire length of the emergent flagellum is suggested, in contrast to earlier reports of their presence only on that portion of the flagellum distal to the cytostome. The present investigation postulates also that the mastigonemes are bipartite, the thicker fibrous bases becoming modified distally into the classically described, mastigonemes.

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