Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis by chemokine blockade

Abstract

  Chemokines induce migration of inflammatory cells. In the synovial tissue of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), abundant chemokines are expressed, which contribute migration of lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages, stimulation of synovial cells, and angiogenesis. Blockade of CCL2, CCL3, CCL5, CCR1, CCR9, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL13, CXCL16, CXCR3, CXCR4, CXCR7, and CX3CL1 showed improvement of arthritis of animal models. Moreover, CCR1 antagonist and anti-CXCL10 antibody reduced arthritis of patients with RA. Chemokine is a promising target for RA therapy.