ArticleAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2011
Cytokine mRNA profiling identifies B cells as a major source of RANKL in rheumatoid arthritis.
Article in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 186 citations in OpenAlex.
- Serum Levels of IL-6 and TNF-α May Correlate with Activity and Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2015Pooled it
- Mechanisms of osteoclast activation in inflammatory bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Interactions between the gut microbiota and immune cell dynamics: novel insights into the gut-bone axis.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- TScience immunology · 2025Article
- Unraveling the mechanisms of bone diseases: targeting dendritic cells in osteoimmunology for internal homeostasis balance.Bone research · 2025Review
- Roles of Immunity and Endogenous Retroelements in the Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Treatment Strategies.Functional & integrative genomics · 2025Review
- Biomaterials for Modulating the Immune Microenvironment in Rheumatoid Arthritis.BME frontiers · 2025Review
- Citrullinated peptides as drug candidates for rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Biomimetic Drug Delivery for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment.International journal of nanomedicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the Interaction Between Sjögren's Syndrome and Osteoporosis: Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Management Strategies.International journal of general medicine · 2025Review
- Biological mechanisms of pulmonary inflammation and its association with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- The interplay of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis: exploring the pathogenesis and pharmacological approaches.Clinical rheumatology · 2024Review
- Histologically Proven Recurrent Synovitis after Nivolumab Treatment.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2024Article
- Overview of mechanisms and novel therapies on rheumatoid arthritis from a cellular perspective.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Depletion of follicular B cell-derived antibody secreting cells does not attenuate angiotensin II-induced hypertension or vascular compliance.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
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- Proteasome inhibition reduces plasma cell and antibody secretion, but not angiotensin II-induced hypertension.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Article
- Identification of biomarkers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis responsive to DMARDs but with progressive bone erosion.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesIn rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a complex cytokine network drives chronic inflammation and joint destruction. So far, few attempts have been made to identify the cellular sources of individual cytokines systematically. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was systematically to assess the cytokine messenger RNA expression profiles in the five largest cell populations in the synovial fluid and peripheral blood of RA patients. To reflect the in vivo situation as closely as possible, the cells were neither cultured nor stimulated ex vivo.
methodsInflammatory cells from 12 RA patients were sorted into CD4 and CD8 T cells, B cells, macrophages and neutrophils. mRNA expression for 41 cytokines was determined by real-time PCR using microfluidic cards. Receptor activator nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) (TNFSF11) expression by B cells was further confirmed by flow cytometry and by immunofluorescence staining of frozen sections of synovial tissue from patients with RA.
resultsThe detection of cytokines characteristic for T cells and myeloid cells in the expected populations validated this methodology. Beyond the expected cytokine patterns, novel observations were made. Striking among these was the high expression of mRNA for RANKL in B cells from synovial fluid. This observation was validated at the protein level in synovial tissue and fluid.
conclusionsRANKL, the key cytokine driving bone destruction by osteoclast activation, is produced by synovial B cells in RA. This observation is of importance for our understanding of the role of B cells in RA and their therapeutic targeting.
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