Investigators from Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a pathway involved in turning off inflammation that does not work properly in people with inflammatory arthritis. The finding, reported in the April 23 issue of the journal Immunity, could lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches to treating arthritis in the future.
"This is the first study to link this pathway to rheumatoid arthritis. In the twenty years or so that I have been studying regulation of inflammation, this seems to be the most potent inhibitory mechanism that we have seen," said Lionel Ivashkiv, M.D., associate chief scientific officer at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and lead author of the study that has appeared online ahead of print.
For several years, Dr. Ivashkiv's lab has been studying what regulates the production of cytokines in inflammatory diseases. Cytokines are small proteins that regulate inflammation; some cytokines spark inflammation and some cytokines are anti-inflammatory. By identifying pathways involved in cytokine production, the researchers hope to open up new therapeutic avenues for diseases such as arthritis in which cytokine production does not work properly.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/185181.php
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com