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A possible role for TSLP in inflammatory arthritis.

Koyama K, Ozawa T, Hatsushika K, Ando T, Takano S, Wako M, Suenaga F, Ohnuma Y, Ohba T, Katoh R, Sugiyama H, Hamada Y, Ogawa H, Okumura K, Nakao A

Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan.

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an IL-7-like cytokine that triggers dendritic cell-mediated Th2-type inflammatory responses and is considered as a master switch for allergic inflammation. In this study, we found increased levels of TSLP and, also TNF-alpha as previously reported, in synovial fluid specimens derived from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when compared with those from patients with osteoarthritis (OA). In addition, TNF-alpha up-regulated TSLP expression in RA- and OA-derived synovial fibroblasts, which was inhibited by IFN-gamma. Furthermore, anti-TSLP neutralizing antibody ameliorated a TNF-alpha-dependent experimental arthritis induced by anti-type II collagen antibody in mice. Collectively, these results suggest that TSLP, as a downstream molecule of TNF-alpha, may be involved in the pathophysiology of inflammatory arthritis. TSLP might thus play a role not only in allergic diseases but also in inflammatory arthritis such as RA.

Published 20 April 2007 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 357(1): 99-104.
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