Intra-articular bioactivity of a p38 MAPK inhibitor and development of an extended-release system.

In the treatment of arthritic diseases, oral or systemic administration of anti-inflammatory substances, such as p38 MAPK inhibitors, is hampered by numerous side effects. To overcome them, formulations of rapid and extended drug delivery systems were studied in intra-articular administration. For the first time, VX-745, a highly selective p38 MAPK inhibitor, demonstrated in vivo bioactivity, similar to dexamethasone activity, following intra-articular administration in an antigen-induced arthritic (AIA) mouse model.

Ag-presenting CpG-activated pDCs prime Th17 cells that induce tumor regression.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) rapidly and massively produce type I IFN and other inflammatory cytokines in response to foreign nucleic acids, thereby indirectly influencing T-cell responses. Moreover, antigen (Ag)-presenting pDCs directly regulate T-cell differentiation. Depending on the immune environment, pDCs exhibit either tolerogenic or immunogenic properties.

STIM1 juxtaposes ER to phagosomes, generating Ca²⁺ hotspots that boost phagocytosis.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes are recruited to phagosomes, but the mechanism and functional significance of this ER recruitment is not known. Here, we show that the ER Ca(2+) sensor stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) sustains high-efficiency phagocytosis by recruiting thin ER cisternae that interact productively but do not fuse with phagosomes.

Results: Endogenous STIM1 was recruited to phagosomes upon ER Ca(2+) depletion in mouse neutrophils, and exogenous YFP-STIM1 puncta coincided with localized Ca(2+) elevations around phagosomes in fibroblasts expressing phagocytic receptors.

Long-term amelioration of established collagen-induced arthritis achieved with short-term therapy combining anti-CD3 and anti-tumor necrosis factor treatments.

Objective: The goal of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment is to achieve clinical remission in order to limit structural damage and physical disability. To this end, recent emphasis has been placed on aggressive treatment early in the course of disease with drugs such as anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents. As T cells are also thought to play an important role in the initiation of RA, we hypothesized that targeting both TNF and T cells would result in better outcomes.

Autoimmunity and inflammation are independent of class II transactivator type PIV-dependent class II major histocompatibility complex expression in peripheral tissues during collagen-induced arthritis.

Objective: To determine the regulation of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in order to investigate their role as nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).

Methods: Expression of class II MHC, class II MHC transactivator (CIITA), and Ciita isoforms PI, PIII, and PIV was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry in human synovial tissues, arthritic mouse joints, and human and murine FLS. CIA was induced in mice in which isoform PIV of Ciita was knocked out (PIV(-/-) ), in PIV(-/-) mice transgenic for CIITA in the thymus (K14 CIITA), and in their control littermates.