The objective of this study was the evaluation of the relation between the N-acetylneuraminic acid-binding endogenous lectin sarcolectin and the cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) during development of rheumatoid nodules (RN) in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Sarcolectin was purified and biotinylated. The binding patterns of this probe were analyzed in RN from patients with RA (n=23) and compared with the distribution of antibodies with specificity for MIF, fibrin, fibronectin. In early RN, all areas of the inflammatory tissue displayed presence of receptors for sarcolectin. Macrophages were especially positive. In mature rheumatoid nodules binding of sarcolectin was restricted to the periphery of necrotic areas, to endothelial cells and perivascular connective tissue of marginal zones. Distribution patterns of MIF were similiar but not identical. The histological staining characteristics demonstrate sarcolectin-binding receptors in RN that are altered upon disease progression. The finding suggests that specific interactions between this endogenous lectin and MIF may be involved in the course of RA.