Bone Marrow Transplant. 2008 Sep;42(5):351-6 Authors: Takken T, van den Beuken C, Wulffraat NM, Helders PJ, van der Net J Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) often have significant physical impairment. A minority is unresponsive to combinations of medications, and a possible treatment of resistant JIA is intense immunosuppression followed by autologous hematopoietic SCT (ASCT).…

Immunol Rev. 2008 Jun;223:252-70 Authors: Noss EH, Brenner MB SUMMARY: Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) are resident mesenchymal cells of synovial joints that have been recognized to play an increasingly important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Activation of FLS in the setting of RA leads to the production of a broad array of cell…

Orv Hetil. 2008 Jul 27;149(30):1405-12 Authors: Váróczy L, Illés A, Kiss E, Szekanecz Z, Soltész P, Sipka S, Kiss A, Udvardy M, Szegedi G, Zeher M High dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell support is a promising therapeutical approach in the treatment of severe refractory multisystem autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was…

Z Rheumatol. 2008 Sep;67(5):424-8 Authors: Blaschke S, Müller GA Fractalkine (CX3CL1), so far the only member of the CX3C class of chemokines, and its receptor, CX3CR1, are strongly expressed in the chronically inflamed synovial tissue of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Due to the specific binding of Fractalkine to its receptor, many proinflammatory reactions involved…

Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2008 Jul;10(3):189-94 Authors: van Laar JM, Tyndall A Cell-based therapies bear promise as a means to dampen autoaggressive immune reactions and induce tolerance in patients with severe rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Of the various types of cell-based therapies, immunoablative treatment combined with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been used in more than…

Mod Rheumatol. 2008;18(6):542-51 Authors: Kusunoki N, Yamazaki R, Kawai S Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that mainly affects the articular synovial tissues. Although the etiology of RA has not yet been elucidated, physical and biochemical inhibition of synovial hyperplasia, which is the origin of articular destruction, may be an effective treatment for…

Photomed Laser Surg. 2008 Aug;26(4):343-7 Authors: Jankowska A, Wiecek P, Burczynska B OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to test the effect of photodynamic therapy on fibroblast proliferation in vitro using protoporphyrin IX as a photosensitizer. BACKGROUND DATA: The abnormal proliferation of synovial tissue serves as a propagator of immune response and tissue damage…

Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Aug;58(8):2296-306 Authors: Laragione T, Brenner M, Mello A, Symons M, Gulko PS OBJECTIVE: The synovial fibroblast, or fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS), has a central role in pannus invasion and destruction of cartilage and bone in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, regulation of the FLS remains incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to…

Clin Exp Immunol. 2008 Aug;153(2):269-76 Authors: Choi JJ, Yoo SA, Park SJ, Kang YJ, Kim WU, Oh IH, Cho CS Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the inherent ability to migrate to multiple organs and to exert immunosuppressive activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-arthritogenic effects of interleukin (IL)-10-transduced MSCs (IL-10-MSC) on…

BioDrugs. 2008;22(5):331-7 Authors: Bourne T, Fossati G, Nesbitt A Antibodies, having a high specificity for their particular target, are increasingly being used as therapeutic agents with functions including agonist, antagonist, and targeted drug delivery. The use of many biologic therapies, including antibody fragments, is generally limited by their rapid clearance from plasma. A commonly used…