Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine
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Association of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with bronchiectasis (BR) has attracted rising attention recently. Prevalence of BR in patients with RA was higher compared to general population and so was prevalence of RA in patients with BR. ⋯ Histological analysis of biopsied pulmonary tissue from patients with RA showed that inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (iBALT) contained a larger number of lymphoid follicles and germinal centers, and produced RAAAB. These data indicate that lung can be a primary initiating site of autoimmunity in RA.