The innate immune system plays an important role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. Previous studies support the role of TLR2 and 4 in RA and experimental arthritis models however the regulation and pathogenic effect of TLR5 is undefined in RA. In this study we show that TLR5 is elevated in RA and osteoarthritis (OA) synovial tissue lining and sublining macrophages and endothelial cells compared to normal individuals. Further, expression of TLR5 is elevated in RA synovial fluid macrophages and RA peripheral blood (PB) monocytes compared to RA and normal PB in vitro differentiated macrophages. We also found that TLR5 on RA monocytes is an important modulator of TNF-α in RA synovial fluid and that TLR5 expression on these cells strongly correlates with RA disease activity and TNF-α levels. Interestingly, TNF-α has a feed back regulation with TLR5 expression in RA monocytes, while expression of this receptor is regulated by IL-17 and IL-8 in RA macrophages and fibroblasts. We show that RA monocytes and macrophages are more responsive to TLR5 ligation compared to fibroblasts despite the proinflammatory response being mediated through the same signaling pathways in macrophages and fibroblasts. In conclusion we document the potential role of TLR5 ligation in modulating transcription of TNF-α from RA synovial fluid and the strong correlation of TLR5 and TNF-α with each other and with disease activity score in RA monocytes. Our results suggest that expression of TLR5 may be a predictor for RA disease progression and that targeting TLR5 may suppress RA.

Objective The aim of the study was to characterize the expression, regulation and pathogenic role of TLR7 and TLR8 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Expression of TLR7 and TLR8 was demonstrated in RA, osteoarthritis (OA) and normal (NL) synovial tissues (ST) employing immunohistochemistry. We next examined the mechanism by which TLR7 and TLR8 ligation mediates proinflammatory response by Western blot analysis and ELISA. Expression of TLR7 and TLR8 in RA monocytes was correlated to disease activity score (DAS28) and TNF-α levels. Further the effect of TLR7 ligation in RA monocytes was determined on synovial fluid (SF) mediated TNF-α transcription. Results TLR7/TLR8 are predominately expressed in RA ST lining and sublining macrophages. We show that NF-κB and/or PI3K pathways are essential for TLR7/TLR8 induction of proinflammatory factors in RA peripheral blood (PB) differentiated macrophages. Expression of TLR7 in RA monocytes shows a strong correlation with DAS28 and TNF-α levels. In contrast, expression of TLR8 in these cells does not correlate with DAS28, TLR7 or TNF-α levels. We further demonstrate that RNA from RA SF but not RA or NL plasma could modulate TNF-α transcription from RA monocytes that can be downregulated by antagonizing TLR7 ligation or degradation of single stand (ss) RNA. Thus, ssRNA present in RA SF may function as a potential endogenous ligand for TLR7. Conclusions These results suggest that expression of TLR7 but not TLR8 may be a predictor for RA disease activity and anti-TNF-α responsiveness, and targeting TLR7 may suppress chronic progression of RA.

Objective This study was conducted to determine the expression pattern, regulation and function of CCL28 and CCR10 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. Methods Expression of CCL28 and CCR10 was assessed in RA compared to other arthritis synovial tissues (ST)s or fluids (SF)s by histology or ELISA. The factors modulating CCL28 and CCR10 expression were identified in RA myeloid and endothelial cells by ELISA, FACS and Western blotting. The mechanism by which CCL28 ligation promotes RA angiogenesis was examined in control or CCR10 knockdown endothelial cell chemotaxis and capillary formation. Results CCL28 and/or CCR10 expression levels were accentuated in STs or SFs of patients with joint disease compared to normal controls and they were predominately coexpressed in RA myeloid and endothelial cells. We show that protein expression of CCL28 and CCR10 was modulated by TNF-α and TLR4 ligation in RA monocytes and endothelial cells and by IL-6 stimulation in RA macrophages. Neutralization of CCL28 in RA SF or blockade of CCR10 on human endothelial progenitor cells (EPC)s significantly reduced SF induced endothelial migration and capillary formation, demonstrating that ligation of joint CCL28 to endothelial CCR10+ cells participates in RA angiogenesis. We uncovered that angiogenesis driven by ligation of CCL28 to CCR10 is linked to the ERK cascade as CCR10 knockdown cells exhibit dysfunctional CCL28 induced ERK signaling, chemotaxis and capillary formation. Conclusions The overexpression of CCL28 and CCR10 in RA ST and their contribution to EPC migration into the RA joints support CCL28/CCR10 cascade as a potential therapeutic target for RA.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by joint pain, swelling, stiffness, and progressive destruction of the small joints of the hands and feet. Treatment of RA has improved over the past decade. With multiple cytokines well-known now to play a role in the pathogenesis of RA, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, many targeted biological treatments against these cytokines have emerged, changing the treatment of this disease. Tocilizumab (TCZ) is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against the IL-6 receptor and has been approved in many countries, including the United States, for the treatment of moderate to severe RA in patients who have not adequately responded to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or cannot tolerate other approved drug classes for RA. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of IL-6 in RA, and to provide an overview of the mode of action, pharmacokinetics, and safety of TCZ. Furthermore, efficacy studies of TCZ as both monotherapy and combination therapy will be evaluated. There have been several important clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of TCZ in RA patients; this review summarizes this data from 14 key trials with emphasis on Phase III trials. Review of these trials provides strong evidence that its use, both as monotherapy and in combination with methotrexate or other DMARDs, is an effective treatment in reducing the signs and symptoms of RA. TCZ showed tolerable safety but care is required for its use since there are some important safety concerns including elevated liver enzymes, elevated low-density lipoprotein, infections, and gastrointestinal perforations. Additionally, given the efficacy of TCZ in the treatment of RA, this review discusses how TCZ may be beneficial in the treatment of other autoimmune diseases, spinal disease, cardiovascular disease, organ transplantation, and malignancies where elevated levels of IL-6 may play a role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.

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