Arthritis Foundation Statement on 
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) Class 
of Carbohydrates

On August 21, 2002, researchers presented findings at the American Chemical Society's national meeting reporting that naturally occurring carbohydrates in cartilage may be an important antigen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study, conducted by Dr. Julia Ying Wang and Dr. Michael H. Roehrl, demonstrated an immune reaction to the carbohydrate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in both an animal model of arthritis and in joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers have long searched for an antigen within the joint that might be responsible for the attack by the immune system that occurs in RA. Carbohydrates are not generally thought of as antigens recognized by the immune system. Why the immune system might choose to recognize GAGs in rheumatoid arthritis is an important question. This may be due to a defect in the immune system itself, or alternatively the deposition of foreign antigen, such as virus or bacteria, within the joint that expresses or alters GAGs.

"This research has the potential to be of enormous importance and is bound to stimulate new questions and avenues of research," said Dr. John H. Klippel, medical director of the Arthritis Foundation. "We are in the early stages of discovery with the potential, over the next decade, to diminish the deformities and disability currently associated with rheumatoid arthritis."

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