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Apoptosis as a therapeutic tool in rheumatoid arthritis

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 2, pages 527–535 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory synovitis that is dominated by the presence of macrophages, lymphocytes and synovial fibroblasts, which leads to the destruction of bone and cartilage. The effectiveness of therapies that are directed against tumour-necrosis factor and interleukin-1 has identified macrophages as a crucial target for therapeutic intervention. However, not all patients respond to these therapies, and the benefits of this form of treatment are short lived. Recent work indicates that the insufficient apoptosis of inflammatory cells in the RA joint might contribute to pathogenesis. In this article, I characterize the mechanisms that prevent the apoptosis of chronic inflammatory cells in the RA joint, to identify potential new targets for the treatment of RA.

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Figure 1: The rheumatoid joint.
Figure 2: Overview of the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Figure 3: Apoptotic pathways.
Figure 4: Essential pathways for maintaining macrophage viability.
Figure 5: Apoptotic pathways in synovial fibroblasts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward 3-315, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, 60611, Illinois, USA

    Richard M. Pope

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  1. Richard M. Pope
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Related links

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DATABASES

Entrez

Mycoplasma pulmonis

LocusLink

A1

AKT1

APAF1

BAD

BAK

BAX

Bcl-2

Bcl-XL

caspase-3

caspase-8

caspase-9

CD44

FADD

FAS

Fas

FASL

FLIP

Flip

GM-CSF

ICAM1

IκBα

IL-1

IL-6

IL-8

IL-15

IL-18

MCL1

MCP1

p53

PIK3

PTEN

sentrin

TGF-β

TNF

VCAM1

XIAP

Medscape DrugInfo

infliximab

methotrexate

sulfasalazine

OMIM

rheumatoid arthritis

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Pope, R. Apoptosis as a therapeutic tool in rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Rev Immunol 2, 527–535 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri846

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