OBJECTIVE Osteopontin (OPN) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OPN can be cleaved by thrombin, resulting in OPN-R and exposing the cryptic C-terminal alpha4beta1 and alpha9beta1 integrin-binding motif (SVVYGLR). Thrombin-activatable carboxypeptidase B (CPB), also called thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, removes...

Synoviocyte adhesion, migration, and proliferation are essential in the growth of pannus and the subsequent invasion of cartilage in inflammatory arthritis. These cellular functions are regulated by the extracellular matrix.' In vitro studies of synoviocytes have previously demonstrated that they display abnormal phenotypic properties, including a transformation-like morphology manifested by ce...

BACKGROUND Statins (3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors) exert favorable effects on lipoprotein metabolism, but appeared to possess anti-inflammatory properties among others, as suggested by their ability to inhibit collagen-induced arthritis in mice. Their activity in fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS) has not yet been studied. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of varying d...

curcumin is a natural substance with anti-cancerous properties without many disadvantages of currently-used anticancer drugs. its toxicity is significantly higher in tumor cells compared with normal cells. we hypothesized the difference of p53 function between normal and tumor cells as one of the presumable causes of this phenomenon. we knocked down the expression of p53 in normal fibroblasts u...

Background: TNF-mediated fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) activation is important for inflammation and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The role of TNF-receptor 1 (TNFR1) FLS has thoroughly been characterized. functions TNFR2 are, however, largely unknown. Objectives: To investigate the contribution to FLS. Methods: RA-FLS were transfected with TNFR2-targeting siRNA pools transc...