Macrophages that accumulate in the synovium of rheumatoid arthritis patients play an important role in the pathogenesis of this inflammatory disease. However, the mechanism by which macrophages are attracted into the inflamed synovium and accumulate there has not been completely delineated. The results of this study show that rheumatoid arthritis synovial stromal cells produce the chemokines mo...

OBJECTIVE To determine if expression of CD44, the principal receptor for hyaluronan, was altered in rheumatoid (RA) synovium and cultured rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts. METHODS Synovium was obtained from normal adult human joints (n = 4) and from joints of patients with RA (n = 5). Specific monoclonal antibodies to CD44 were used in immunofluorescence of whole synovium and cultured synovial...

Cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA) is thought to be mediated by two main enzyme families; the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are responsible for cartilage collagen breakdown, whereas enzymes from the 'a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin motifs' (ADAMTS) family mediate cartilage aggrecan loss. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) regulate the act...

The most constant pathological feature of rheumatoid arthritis is involvement of the synovial membrane. The lesions lack specificity and vary from site to site even in one joint, but generally they show exudation and cell proliferation. The exudates consist of fibrin and inflammatory cells including plasma cells and lymphocytes. Synovial lining cells become larger and more numerous and blood ve...

The synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and LEW/N rats with streptococcal cell wall (SCW) arthritis, an experimental model resembling RA, is characterized by massive proliferation of synovial connective tissues and invasive destruction of periarticular bone and cartilage. Since heparin binding growth factor (HBGF)-1, the precursor of acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), is a...

The transcription factor NF-kB is a pivotal regulator of inf lammatory responses. While the activation of NF-kB in the arthritic joint has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), its significance is poorly understood. Here, we examine the role of NF-kB in animal models of RA. We demonstrate that in vitro, NF-kB controlled expression of numerous inf lammatory molecules in synoviocytes an...

This review will describe the normal innervation of the joints, in particular the synovium, and then show how this changes in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joint in the human. Substance P will be described in detail, as an example of a particular neuropeptide. The concepts surrounding neuropeptide release and the role of neuropeptides in inflammatory joint disease (neurogenic inflammation) will...

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have great potential as carriers for local drug delivery and as a primary therapeutic for treatment of inflammation. Here we report on the AuNP-synovium interaction in an ex vivo model of intra-articular application for treatment of joint inflammation. Sheets of porcine femoropatellar synovium were obtained post mortem and each side of the tissue samples was maintaine...