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Role of osteopontin in rheumatoid arthritis

  • Review Article - Pathology reviews
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Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by joint swelling, joint tenderness, and destruction of synovial joints, leading to severe disability and premature mortality. RA is a multifactorial disease with genetic, environmental, and stochastic components related to its susceptibility. It has been demonstrated that the expression of osteopontin (OPN) is upregulated in the RA patients. Numerous studies have indicated that the full-length OPN or even OPN fragments, such as thrombin-cleaved OPN and its receptors, play the key roles in RA pathogenesis. Therapeutic application of siRNA to target OPN or neutralizing antibodies related to OPN epitopes in RA animal models are in progress, and some results are encouraging. However, there is a long way to go along with the clinical trials. This review focuses on the recent development in research associated with the OPN role in the pathogenesis of RA and provides insights concerning the OPN targeting as therapeutic approaches for patients with RA.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81272034), the Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (CX2012B086), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University (2013 zzts081).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Fangjie Zhang, Wei Luo, Yusheng Li, Shuguang Gao & Guanghua Lei

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Fangjie Zhang

  3. Orthopaedics Institute of Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Guanghua Lei

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  1. Fangjie Zhang
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  3. Yusheng Li
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Correspondence to Guanghua Lei.

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Zhang, F., Luo, W., Li, Y. et al. Role of osteopontin in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int 35, 589–595 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-014-3122-z

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