Things are a bit murky with RA research, say scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK. A team of researchers has discovered a “constant cloud” of potent inflammatory molecules surrounding the cells responsible for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and thickening of the arteries. Their work has just been published online in The Journal of Cell Science, and may eventually lead to new treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.
Inflammatory Molecules Surrounded by Cloud
1 min read Premium comments
Secondary
The UEA team studied monocytes, a type of white blood cell that helps protect our bodies against infection. The downside is that they can also invade tissue, triggering the early stages of common inflammatory diseases.
The researchers detected for the first time that monocytes were surrounded by a constant cloud. This cloud was found to be made up of potent inflammatory molecules called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Further study showed that the ATP molecules were being propelled through the cell wall by the actions of lysosomes. Lysosomes are sub-cellular compartments within blood cells which had previously been thought to only break down cell waste.
“These unexpected findings shed light on the very early stages in the development of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, ” said lead author Dr. Samuel Fountain of UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, in the July 4, 2012 news release. Dr. Fountain is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Fellow.
“We found that lysosomes are actually highly dynamic and play a key role in the way inflammatory cells function. This is an exciting development that we hope will lead to the discovery of new targets for inflammatory drugs in around five years and potential new treatments beyond that.”
The team says that its future work will involve looking into how to control the release of ATP by lysosomes in monocytes and other white blood cells, and to understand how inflammation may be affected in patients with inherited diseases involving lysosomes.
React:
Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
Join the conversation
Orthopedic professionals are discussing this. Sign in and upgrade to read every comment and add your voice.