ArticleExperimental & molecular medicine2020
Angiogenic cytokines can reflect the synovitis severity and treatment response to biologics in rheumatoid arthritis.
Article in Experimental & molecular medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review: Targeted Molecular Imaging of Angiogenesis and Its Mediators in Rheumatoid Arthritis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Synovial histopathology in common orthopaedic joint conditions assessed with a modified Krenn synovitis score.Histology and histopathology · 2026Article
- Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) biology and its proposed role in rheumatic diseases pathogenesis.Advances in rheumatology (London, England) · 2026Article
- The therapeutic effects of the VEGF decoy receptor fusion protein VEGF-Grab in chronic inflammatory diseases.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Nanozyme-Mediated Joint Homeostasis Restoration: Emerging Strategies for Arthritis Therapy.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Therapeutic Nanozymes in Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Through Disease Stage-Oriented Strategies.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Platelet count correlates with systemic inflammation but not with synovial vascularity in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis: a cross-sectional ultrasound-based study.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- Pathogenic Role of Cytokines in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Angiogenesis in rheumatoid Arthritis: Pathological characterization, pathogenic mechanisms, and nano-targeted therapeutic strategies.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- ARHGAP17 and VEGFB as Biomarkers for Electroacupuncture in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Potential and Unresolved Questions [Letter].Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Identifying Diagnostic Biomarkers for Electroacupuncture Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Bioinformatic Analysis and Machine Learning Algorithms.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Synoviocyte detachment: an overlooked yet crucial histological aspect in rheumatoid arthritis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Role of high-temperature requirement serine protease A 2 in rheumatoid inflammation.Arthritis research & therapy · 2023Article
- MMP-13, VEGF, and Disease Activity in a Cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Literature Review: The sFlt1/PlGF Ratio and Pregestational Maternal Comorbidities: New Risk Factors to Predict Pre-Eclampsia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Alcohol extracts fromMolecular medicine reports · 2023Article
- The Notch signaling-regulated angiogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis: pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic potentials.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Role of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial damage in rheumatoid arthritis and targeted drugs.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Role and mechanism of fibroblast-activated protein-α expression on the surface of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Comparison and correlation study of synovial ultrasound indices and serum VEGF in rheumatoid wrist arthritis before and after treatment.Clinical rheumatology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Angiogenesis and synoviocyte hyperplasia, called 'pannus,' are pathologic hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To determine the clinical significance of angiogenic cytokines in RA, the levels of pro-angiogenic cytokines, including VEGF, placenta growth factor (PlGF), and IL-6, were measured in the synovial fluid (SF, n = 54) and sera of RA patients (n = 157) using ELISA. Patients (n = 103) with disease activity score 28 (DAS28) > 3.2, which indicates moderate to high RA activity, underwent follow-up blood sampling at 6 months after treatment with conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (c-DMARD) or biologic DMARD (b-DMARD) including an anti-TNFα antibody, an anti-IL-6 antibody, and abatacept. Ultrasonography (US) was performed on affected joints to define the synovitis severity at the time of sampling. Consequently, in the SF of RA patients, PlGF and IL-6 levels correlated well with synovitis severity determined by US. In RA sera, VEGF and IL-6 levels were elevated in proportion to synovitis severity, correlating with conventional markers for disease activity, including ESR, CRP, and DAS28. In c-DMARD users (n = 53), serially monitored levels of serum VEGF, IL-6, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) all decreased in good and moderate responders but not in nonresponders. In b-DMARD users (n = 49), only serum VEGF well represented the treatment response, while CRP nonspecifically decreased irrespective of the treatment outcome. By multivariable analysis, serum ΔVEGF, but not ΔESR or ΔCRP, was an independent factor associated with good and moderate responses to DMARD. In summary, the angiogenic cytokines PlGF and VEGF represent the synovitis severity of RA assessed by US. In patients receiving b-DMARD, serum VEGF may be more valuable than CRP in reflecting the treatment response.
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