Recent developments in the immunobiology of rheumatoid arthritis.
Progress into the understanding of immunopathology in rheumatoid arthritis is reviewed in the present article with regard to pro-inflammatory cytokine production, cell activation and recruitment, and osteoclastogenesis. Studies highlight the potential importance of T helper 17 cells and regulatory T cells in driving and suppressing inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, respectively, and highlight other potential T-cell therapeutic targets. The genetic associations of the HLA shared epitope alleles with antibodies to citrullinated peptides in rheumatoid arthritis patients indicate that T cells are providing help to B cells to produce autoantibodies, and there is increasing evidence that these autoantibodies are pathogenic in rheumatoid arthritis.
Andersson
Anna K
AK
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, 1 Aspenlea Road, London W6 8LH, UK. a.andersson@imperial.ac.uk
Li
Ching
C
Brennan
Fionula M
FM
D000818:Animals; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens