Regulatory and other rheumatoid factors in rheumatoid arthritis patients with active disease or in remission

Abstract

Despite numerous studies, the only properties definitively established for rheumatoid factor (RF) are that RF is an antibody to the Fc portion of modified IgG, and that elevated RF levels are a diagnostic marker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both the mechanisms by which RF level is elevated in autoimmune and infectious diseases and the role that RF plays in healthy and disease states