Synovial fluid proteome in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoinflammatory disorder that affects small joints. Despite intense efforts, there are currently no definitive markers for early diagnosis of RA and for monitoring the progression of this disease, though some of the markers like anti CCP antibodies and anti vimentin antibodies are promising. We sought to catalogue the proteins present in the synovial fluid of patients with RA.

Proteomic Signature of Endothelial Dysfunction Identified in the Serum of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients by the iTRAQ-Based LC-MS Approach.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a devastating cerebrovascular disorder that leads to permanent physical and neurological disabilities in adults worldwide. Proteins associated with stroke pathogenesis may appear in the serum of AIS patients due to blood-brain barrier dysfunction, thus permitting the development of blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis of stroke. These biomarkers could perhaps be an adjunct to the existing imaging modalities and aid in better management and therapeutic intervention during the course of the disease.

Proteomic analysis of human osteoarthritis synovial fluid.

Background: Osteoarthritis is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized mainly by progressive degradation of the hyaline cartilage. Patients with osteoarthritis often postpone seeking medical help, which results in the diagnosis being made at an advanced stage of cartilage destruction. Sustained efforts are needed to identify specific markers that might help in early diagnosis, monitoring disease progression and in improving therapeutic outcomes.

Differential proteomic analysis of synovial fluid from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are two common musculoskeletal disorders that affect the joints. Despite high prevalence rates, etiological factors involved in these disorders remain largely unknown. Dissecting the molecular aspects of these disorders will significantly contribute to improving their diagnosis and clinical management.

A multilectin affinity approach for comparative glycoprotein profiling of rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy.

Background: Arthritis refers to inflammation of joints and includes common disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathies (SpAs). These diseases differ mainly in terms of their clinical manifestations and the underlying pathogenesis. Glycoproteins in synovial fluid might reflect the disease activity status in the joints affected by arthritis; yet they have not been systematically studied previously.

Characterizing the normal proteome of human ciliary body.

Background: The ciliary body is the circumferential muscular tissue located just behind the iris in the anterior chamber of the eye. It plays a pivotal role in the production of aqueous humor, maintenance of the lens zonules and accommodation by changing the shape of the crystalline lens. The ciliary body is the major target of drugs against glaucoma as its inhibition leads to a drop in intraocular pressure.

A Bioinformatics Resource for TWEAK-Fn14 Signaling Pathway.

TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a new member of the TNF superfamily. It signals through TNFRSF12A, commonly known as Fn14. The TWEAK-Fn14 interaction regulates cellular activities including proliferation, migration, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, tissue remodeling and inflammation.

NetSlim: high-confidence curated signaling maps.

We previously developed NetPath as a resource for comprehensive manually curated signal transduction pathways. The pathways in NetPath contain a large number of molecules and reactions which can sometimes be difficult to visualize or interpret given their complexity. To overcome this potential limitation, we have developed a set of more stringent curation and inclusion criteria for pathway reactions to generate high-confidence signaling maps.

A comprehensive manually curated reaction map of RANKL/RANK-signaling pathway.

Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) is a member of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily that plays a key role in the regulation of differentiation, activation and survival of osteoclasts and also in tumor cell migration and bone metastasis. Osteoclast activation induced by RANKL regulates hematopoietic stem cell mobilization as part of homeostasis and host defense mechanisms thereby linking regulation of hematopoiesis with bone remodeling. Binding of RANKL to its receptor, Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANK) activates molecules such as NF-kappa B, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and phosphatidyl 3-kinase (PI3K).

RAPID: Resource of Asian Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases.

Availability of a freely accessible, dynamic and integrated database for primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) is important both for researchers as well as clinicians. To build a PID informational platform and also as a part of action to initiate a network of PID research in Asia, we have constructed a web-based compendium of molecular alterations in PID, named Resource of Asian Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (RAPID), which is available as a worldwide web resource at http://rapid.rcai.