Cell Function Discovery brings hope for RA Sufferers

Researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Fondazione A.Gemelli IRCCS in Italy and the Versus Arthritis funded Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre (RACE) – found that  people with arthritis in long-term remission had a difference in cell function which could settle inflammation and ‘teach’ nearby cells to repair the joint.

Scientists hope these resolving cells could be effectively harnessed to improve treatments for people who experience flare-ups of the disease.

Lead author Dr. Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska, from University of Glasgow and RACE, said: “The result of this study is a credit to the vision and teamwork of our multinational collaborators. We identified different types of macrophages and our goal now is to discover treatments that will encourage development of resolving macrophages in the joint.

“This would be a useful additional strategy to current treatments that calm-down the aggressive macrophages in arthritis. In the meantime, the relative numbers of resolving macrophages or aggressive macrophages in the synovium, or joint, might be a good predictor of flare and an indicator of arthritis patients maintaining remission.”

Prof Iain B McInnes, Director of the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Glasgow and RACE, said: “For many years we have focussed our research efforts on the pathways that switch on inflammation in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis – and this new study is remarkable in showing us how natural resolution of inflammation occurs. This gives us new clues as to how we can best design new treatments to achieve remission -our long-standing goal!”

The study, ‘Distinct synovial tissue macrophage subsets regulate inflammation and remission in rheumatoid arthritis’ was published in Nature Medicine.