Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is well known to be a chronic autoimmune/inflammatory disease which leads to progressive joint damage and destruction. Less well known is the fact that in severe cases of RA, with extra-articular manifestations and multiple joint involvement, there is also a significant reduction in life expectancy [28]. Hence the need for new therapeutic agents. With the cloning of cDNAs encoding cytokines in the early to mid 1980s, it became possible to use new assays to evaluate cytokine expression in the local site of autoimmunity, the rheumatoid synovium. There were two goals. First would understanding cytokine expression help us understand the pathogenesis of RA? Secondly, would it be possible to learn enough about the cytokine network to establish possible therapeutic targets? While a complete understanding of either of these questions remains elusive, here we review the state of knowledge in early 1998, which shows that much progress has been made and that these goals have been partly reached. The clinical benefits of this knowledge are documented elsewhere in this compilation, as is the role of chemokines, anti-inflammatory cytokines and the cytokines involved in neovascularisation.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Springer semin immunopathol

Publication Date

1998

Volume

20

Pages

133 - 147

Keywords

Animals, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Autoimmune Diseases, Cells, Cultured, Cytokines, Humans, Time Factors, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha