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…

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Sep 23;105(38):14692-7 Authors: Ahmed S, Marotte H, Kwan K, Ruth JH, Campbell PL, Rabquer BJ, Pakozdi A, Koch AE Regulation of IL-6 transsignaling by the administration of soluble gp130 (sgp130) receptor to capture the IL-6/soluble IL-6R complex has shown promise for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).…

Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2008 Jul-Aug;26(4):574-81 Authors: Selvi E, Lorenzini S, Garcia-Gonzalez E, Maggio R, Lazzerini PE, Capecchi PL, Balistreri E, Spreafico A, Niccolini S, Pompella G, Natale MR, Guideri F, Laghi Pasini F, Galeazzi M, Marcolongo R OBJECTIVE: To verify whether synthetic cannabinoids (CP55,940 and WIN55,212-2) are able to exert an anti-inflammatory effect on rheumatoid…

Rinsho Ketsueki. 2008 Aug;49(8):658-63 Authors: Yamauchi N, Muramatsu H, Inomata H, Numata T, Nozawa E, Nishino M, Koyama R, Ihara K, Nishisato T, Hirayama M, Katsuki S, Matsunaga T, Niitsu Y Cyclic thrombocytopenia is a rare disorder with periodic changes of the platelet count. We experienced a patient with cyclic thrombocytopenia and Sjögren syndrome (SS),…

J Immunol. 2008 Oct 1;181(7):5111-9 Authors: Nochi H, Tomura H, Tobo M, Tanaka N, Sato K, Shinozaki T, Kobayashi T, Takagishi K, Ohta H, Okajima F, Tamoto K While inflammatory cytokines are well-recognized critical factors for the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in activated fibroblast-like synovial cells, the roles of biologically active components other than inflammatory…

Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Oct;58(10):3051-62 Authors: Vandooren B, Cantaert T, ter Borg M, Noordenbos T, Kuhlman R, Gerlag D, Bongartz T, Reedquist K, Tak PP, Baeten D OBJECTIVE: Cadherin 11 expressed on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) plays a key role in normal synovial architecture. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of cadherin 11…

Scand J Rheumatol. 2008 Nov-Dec;37(6):401-9 Authors: Bramlage CP, Kaps C, Ungethüm U, Bramlage P, Koziolek M, Wessels J, Krenn V, Pruss A, Müller GA, Strutz F, Burmester GR, Häupl T OBJECTIVE: Growth differentiation factor-5 (GDF-5), a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta family, is involved in joint development during embryogenesis and has the potential…

Rev Med Interne. 2009 Mar;30(3):287-99 Authors: Larghero J, Vija L, Lecourt S, Michel L, Verrecchia F, Farge D Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent a population of the bone marrow microenvironment, which participates in the regulation of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) self-renewal and differentiation. MSC are multipotent non-haematopoietic progenitors, which have been explored as a promising…

Arthritis Res Ther. 2008;10(5):223 Authors: Chen FH, Tuan RS Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the nonhematopoietic progenitor cells found in various adult tissues, are characterized by their ease of isolation and their rapid growth in vitro while maintaining their differentiation potential, allowing for extensive culture expansion to obtain large quantities suitable for therapeutic use. These properties…

Autoimmunity. 2008 Dec;41(8):625-31 Authors: Snowden JA, Kapoor S, Wilson AG The therapeutic potential of high dose cytotoxic therapy and stem cell transplantation (SCT) in severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was originally supported by animal studies and serendipitous clinical cases where allogeneic and autologous procedures were shown to ameliorate and potentially cure the disease. Phase I and…