Macrophage Subsets in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease: Lessons from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spondyloarthritis, Osteoarthitis, Behçet’s
Disease and Gout
Maria Cristina Lebre*, Paul Peter TakDivision of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Macrophages are a major cell population in most of the tissues, and their numbers increase massively in inflammation, in wound healing and in tumors. In particular, macrophages contribute to autoimmune events in rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA), mainly acting as antigen-presenting cells and also as the major source of inflammatory mediators that are important in joint inflammation. In this respect, macrophages release a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and events downstream of this cytokine cascade will contribute to cartilage and bone destruction. It is becoming clear that differential macrophage activation by distinct mechanisms is crucial for their function. This review will discuss several aspects of macrophage function in immune-mediated inflammatory disease with particular emphasis in RA, SpA, osteoarthitis, Behçet’s disease and gout.
Keywords: Macrophages, arthritis, inflammation, cytokines.
Article Information
Article History:
Received Date: 18/6/2009
Revision Received Date: 2/8/2009
Acceptance Date: 3/8/2009
Electronic publication date: 12/1/2010
Collection year: 2010
© Lebre and Tak; Licensee Bentham Open.
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
* Address correspondence to this author at the Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, K0-154, P.O. Box 22700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Tel: +31 20 5667688; Fax: +31 20 6919658; E-mail: c.lebre@amc.uva.nl
Open Peer Review Details |
Manuscript submitted on 18-6-2009 |
Original Manuscript |
Macrophage Subsets in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease: Lessons from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spondyloarthritis, Osteoarthitis, Behçet’s
Disease and Gout
|