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Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

The Role of Macrophages in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Author(s): Yingyu Ma and Richard M. Pope

Volume 11, Issue 5, 2005

Page: [569 - 580] Pages: 12

DOI: 10.2174/1381612053381927

Price: $65

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune chronic inflammatory joint disease, characterized by macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration, proliferation of synovial fibroblasts, and joint destruction. Macrophages are critically involved in the pathogenesis of RA. Not only do they produce a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, but they also contribute to the cartilage and bone destruction in RA through multiple mechanisms. Macrophage activation by several distinct mechanisms is crucial for their function. This review will discuss several aspects of macrophage function in RA, including the mechanisms for macrophage activation, the signaling pathways in activated macrophages, and the mechanisms that inhibit apoptosis in macrophages in the rheumatoid joints.

Keywords: chronic inflammatory, joint disease, macrophages, fibroblasts, lymphocytes


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