From the ArcaMax Publishing, UK News Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/uknews/s-574661-647715
LONDON (UPI) -- British scientists say they have identified a signal
molecule made by the body that triggers chronic inflammation in
rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers from Imperial College London say if scientists could block
that signal, it might be possible to develop more effective arthritis
treatments.
When a microbe infects the body, the body responds by turning on a
molecular switch to set the immune system into action, the researchers
said. The new findings show a signal molecule called tenascin-C can
trigger the same molecular switch and also activate the immune system.
High levels of tenascin-C present in joints, therefore, might cause
the activated immune system to attack the joint resulting in the
persistent inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers said.
"We have uncovered one way that the immune system may be triggered to
attack the joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis," said Kim
Midwood, lead author of the study, from the college's Institute of
Rheumatology. "We hope our new findings can be used to develop new
therapies that interfere with tenascin-C activation of the immune
system and that these will reduce the painful inflammation that is a
hallmark of this condition."
The research is reported in the journal Nature Medicine.