TY - JOUR T1 - Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapies Reduce Serum Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1α in Ankylosing Spondylitis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1073 LP - 1074 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.091469 VL - 37 IS - 5 AU - HANDAN AKBULUT AU - SULEYMAN S. KOCA AU - METIN OZGEN AU - AHMET ISIK Y1 - 2010/05/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/37/5/1073.abstract N2 - To the Editor:Chemokines orchestrate inflammatory status by stimulating the directional migration and activation of inflammatory cells. Synovial macrophages, lymphocytes, synoviocytes, and chondrocytes produce various chemokines, which are mainly stimulated by inflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1. Although cytokines and chemokines are not fully characterized, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is overexpressed in sacroiliac joints2, and TNF-α blockade improves the outlook for spondyloarthropathies3. We evaluated serum concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α) and the effects of anti-TNF therapies on chemokines in patients with RA and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Our study included 14 patients (8 RA, 6 AS) who were diagnosed according to established criteria and 13 healthy control subjects. Disease activities were determined. Nine patients received etanercept … Address correspondence to Dr. Koca; E-mail: kocassk{at}yahoo.com ER -