Objective To determine the levels of CC chemokine ligand 5 （CCL5） in serum and synovial fluid （SF） from patients with rheumatoid arthritis （RA） and their relations with disease activity and medication. Methods CCL5 in serum and SF was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） in 28 RA patients and 21 osteoarthritis （OA） patients. In RA patients

the correlations of CCL5 levels in serum and SF with disease activity were analyzed. Meanwhile

the serum CCL5 levels among RA patients treated with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs （DMARDs）

Tripterygium Glucosides

and other Chinese herbs without disease-modifying effects were also compared. Results CCL5 levels in both serum and SF of RA patients were significantly higher than those of OA patients （P<0.05）. Moreover

the level of CCL5 was higher in SF than that in serum of RA patients （P<0.01）. Serum CCL5 level was correlated significantly with the number of swollen joints （r=0.3329

P<0.05）

erythrocyte sedimentation rate （r=0.4001

P<0.05）

and C reactive protein （r=0.3735

P<0.01）. In addition

the level of CCL5 had a trend of lower in patients treated with DMARDs or Tripterygium Glucosides than those treated with other Chinese herbs

although the difference was not significant among those patients due to the small number of patients in each group. Conclusions In RA patients

the expression of CCL5 increases and correlates with some clinical and laboratory parameters of RA

which indicate that CCL5 plays an important role in RA and may serve as a useful marker of disease activity. DMARDs and Tripterygium Glucosides might exert their clinical effects through reducing CCL5 production in RA.