In many inflammatory disorders excess iron is found within reticuloendothelial cells. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis the synovial membrane contains an excess of iron (in the form of ferritin) concentrated within the cytoplasm and lysosomes of the type A reticuloendothelial cells.1 The concept that this iron may promote or worsen inflammation is not new. de Duve2 suggested that lysosomes ...

Our objective was to establish the existence of intercellular communication through gap junctions in synovial lining cells and in primary and passaged cultures of human synovial cells. Communication between cells was assessed using the nystatin perforated-patch method, fluorescent dye transfer, immunochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, and immunoblotting. Functional gap junctions were ...

OBJECTIVES To analyse synovial fluid and serum concentrations of the amino-propeptide of the type III procollagen (PIIINP) in normal individuals and patients with joint disease, and to explore the relationship between synovial fluid PIIINP concentrations and the rheumatological diagnosis, local inflammation, and joint disease. METHODS A radioimmunoassay was used to measure the PIIINP concentr...

BACKGROUND Monosodium urate (MSU) has been shown to promote inflammasome activation and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion in monocyte/macrophages, but the cellular pathway and nod-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in synovial tissues, remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the effects of MSU on synovial fibroblasts to elucidate the process of...

OBJECTIVE To quantify cells expressing mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers in synovial membranes from human osteoarthritic (OA) and healthy joints. METHODS Synovial membranes from OA and healthy joints were digested with collagenase and the isolated cells were cultured. Synovial membrane-derived cells were phenotypically characterized for differentiation experiments using flow cytometry to de...

In many inflammatory disorders excess iron is found within reticuloendothelial cells. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis the synovial membrane contains an excess of iron (in the form of ferritin) concentrated within the cytoplasm and lysosomes of the type A reticuloendothelial cells.1 The concept that this iron may promote or worsen inflammation is not new. de Duve2 suggested that lysosomes ...

OBJECTIVE To elucidate a possible role of cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial cell function, we have studied CREB expression of synovial cells and the effects of an inhibitor of the cAMP/CREB signal pathway on synovial cell function in patients with RA. METHODS We examined CREB expression by immunohistochemical staining, immunocytochemical stai...

DNA and RNA were extracted from synovial membranes, synovial fibroblast cells, peripheral blood lymphocytes, and synovial fibroblast cells strains derived from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other joint conditions. They were hybridised after immobilisation on nitrocellulose filters with iodinated viral nucleic acids extracted from measles, rubella virus, SV--40, and a retrovirus, RD--11...

OBJECTIVE To measure oncostatin M (OSM) in synovial fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS 20 samples of synovial fluid from patients with RA and 10 samples from patients with OA were examined using an OSM specific sandwich ELISA. RESULTS OSM was detected at concentrations ranging from 2.36 to 901.82 pg/ml in 18 (90%) of 20 samples of synovial fl...

BACKGROUND Synovial sarcoma is a high-grade, soft tissue, malignant disease associated with poor outcome. Typically, synovial sarcoma involves the extremities, with less than 10 per cent of cases occurring in the head and neck region. Synovial sarcoma of the paranasal sinuses is a rare entity. This paper presents a case of an elderly patient with synovial sarcoma of the ethmoidal sinus. CASE ...