Specific role of synovial macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis
10.3867/j.issn.1000-3002.2017.10.115
- Author:
YANG XUE-ZHI
1
;
CHANG YAN
;
WEI WEI
Author Information
1. Institute of Clinical Pharmacology
- Keywords:
synovial macrophage;
polarization;
heterogeneity;
apoptosis;
rheumatoid arthritis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology
2017;31(10):1026-1026
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, which is characterized by synovial inflammation. Hyperplasia sublining macrophages found in synovium is an early hallmark of RA and effective treatment results in their diminution. However, the origin of these sublining macrophages in synovium (including infiltrated macrophages and tissue-resident macrophages) are still unknown both in animal models of arthritis and RA patients, let alone the differences and feature of these macro?phages. In rheumatic synovium, macrophages are submitted to a large variety of micro-environmental signals which influence the phenotypic polarization and activation of macrophages. Understanding the mechanisms and functional consequences of the heterogeneous macrophages will contribute to confirm their potential role in synovial inflammation development. Furthermore, research on macrophage plasticity to soft-control their phenotypic polarization could lead to novel therapeutic approaches.