Rossol et al. found that circulating intermediate CD14++/brightCD16+ monocytes in the presence of LPS promoted Th17 cell expansion from peripheral blood memory CD4+ T cells in vitro, and that the frequency of CD14++/brightCD16+ monocytes in peripheral blood of RA patients correlated closely with ex vivo Th17 cell frequencies (27). This evidence concerns the gene CD14 and rheumatoid arthritis.