Editorial
Paradoxical effects of tumour necrosis factor-α in adjuvant-induced arthritis
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Correspondence: Richard O Williams richard.o.williams@imperial.ac.uk
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division, Imperial College London, Aspenlea Road, London W6 8LH, UK
Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008, 10:113 doi:10.1186/ar2430
Published: 6 June 2008Abstract
Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α therapy is highly effective in rheumatoid arthritis and it is surprising, therefore, that a recent study showed that intraperitoneal administration of recombinant TNFα reduced the severity of adjuvant-induced arthritis and decreased IFNγ expression in cultured draining lymph node cells. Furthermore, in untreated arthritic rats, maximal TNFα expression in draining lymph node cells coincided with spontaneous disease remission, suggesting a role for endogenous TNFα in recovery from arthritis. If confirmed in further studies, these findings suggest that, in addition to its well-established pro-inflammatory properties, TNFα may also play a disease-limiting role in this model of rheumatoid arthritis by suppressing effector T cell responses.