Editorial
Plasma proteins take their toll on the joint in osteoarthritis
1 Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
2 Section of Rheumatology, Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Biochemistry, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Arthritis Research & Therapy 2012, 14:111 doi:10.1186/ar3741
See related research by Sohn et al., http://arthritis-research.com/content/14/1/R7M
Published: 5 March 2012Abstract
In their recent study, Sohn and colleagues identify multiple plasma proteins in the synovial fluid of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and demonstrate the capacity of several of the proteins to activate macrophages via the innate immune receptor Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4). The authors speculate that the plasma proteins transit into the synovial compartment at sites of tissue damage where the endothelial barrier may be compromised, thus bringing them into contact with the articular surface and cells within the synovium. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism by which synovial inflammation can be initiated in patients with OA and how this process may contribute to the pathogenesis of OA joint pathology.
