The JAK inhibitor tofacitinib suppresses synovial JAK1-STAT signalling in rheumatoid arthritis
Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 Nov 14. pii: annrheumdis-2014-206028. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206028. [Epub ahead of print]
Targeting intracellular pathways such as JAK/STAT represents a novel approach to the treatment of RA. Tofacitinib is an oral JAK inhibitor, proven to be effective in the treatment of RA, yet the pathways affected by tofacitinib and the effects on gene expression in situ are unknown. In this study, Boyle et al. tested the hypothesis that tofacitinib targets cytokine signalling critical to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid synovitis by investigating tofacitinib effects on synovial pathobiology.
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March 2014
Inhibition of TAK1 and/or JAK can rescue impaired chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritis-like conditions
Tissue Engineering Part A doi:10/1089/ten.TEA.2013.0553
As it is nonvascularized and noninnervated, articular cartilage has a limited capacity to repair which presents a major clinical problem. In order to circumvent this inability to repair, stem cells can be placed into the joint or stimulated within the bone marrow. However, as the cartilage requiring repair is often in diseased joints, the factors involved in the disease state are potentially non-beneficial to the chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells. In this study van Beuningen et al. invest...
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November 2013
EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2013 update
Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204573
The 2010 EULAR recommendations represented a significant step forward in the management of rheumatoid arthritis, and they have been widely adopted across the world. However, in the rapidly evolving world of rheumatology, it was recognised that a substantial amount of new evidence has accumulated, both on agents approved at that time as well as data on new compounds that have become available over the last 3–4 years. This motivated EULAR to form an international task force to update their recomme...
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October 2013
Ibrutinib and novel BTK inhibitors in clinical development
Journal of Hematology & Oncology 2013;6:59
Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a part of the cytokine signalling pathways involved in malignancies and autoimmune disorders.. Akinleye et al. provide a review of all the current BTK inhibitors in preclinical and clinical trials for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis. Particular focus is placed on ibrutinib, a novel human BTK-inhibitor, currently in phase III clinical trials. The authors also discuss four new compounds with potential indications in rh...
June 2013
Cytokine receptor signaling through the Jak–Stat–Socs pathway in disease
Molecular Immunology 2007; 44:2497-506
This review from 2007 provides an overview of the largest cytokine receptor family, the haematopoietin receptors, as well as other key components involved in one of the major cytokine signalling pathways implicated in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This includes the Janus kinases (Jaks), signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stats) and suppressors of cytokine signalling genes (Socs). Essentially, when a cytokine binds to a receptor from this group a functional cytokine recep...