Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are involved in inflammation and tissue destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In particular, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is highly activated in RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes and synovium. However, defining the precise function of this kinase has been difficult because a selective JNK inhibitor has not been available. We now report the use...

Objectives To elucidate the effects and potential mechanisms of hypericin-photodynamic therapy (HYP-PDT) for treating the human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) MH7A cell-line. Materials and Methods MH7A cells were subjected to HYP-PDT intervention and apoptosis was evaluated via MTT, nuclear staining, and flowcytometry analyses. Intracellular reactive oxygen specie...

This study aims to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression level in drug resistance to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RRA). We evaluated and compared the expression levels of P-gp in fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), and investigated the potential mechanism of P...

INTRODUCTION Our previous work has revealed that expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) is elevated in the synovial tissues from osteoarthritis (OA) patients. The aim of this study was to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms by which FSTL1 plays a role in the pathogenesis of OA. METHODS Cultured fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) from synovial tissues of OA patients were s...

when grown in monolayer culture at low density and with the addition of serum, cartilage cells dedifferentiate or are overgrown by fibroblast-like cells. the aim of this study was to optimize the cultivation of chondrocytes in monolayer culture and to slow down their transformation or their overgrowth by fibroblast-like cells. the interaction between chondrocytes and cartilage-specifc matrix is...

Endoneurial fibroblast-like cells (EFLCs) have been described for more than 60 years, but the embryology, functions, and pathology of these cells are not well defined. Several hypotheses of their origin have been proposed. A previous study suggesting that they were of neural crest origin is supported by our data in humans. This lineage might account for EFLCs having multiple biologic functions ...

background: since embryonic stem (es) cells have the dual ability to proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into multiple tissue types, es cells could potentially provide an unlimited cell supply for human transplantation. objective: in order to study the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (mes) cells, they were cultured in suspension by using es media without leukemia inhibitory facto...