Objective To determine whether myeloid cells (such as granulocytes) present in the synovial fluid (SF) of arthritic joints have an impact on adaptive immunity. Specifically, we investigated the effects of SF cells harvested from the joints of mice with proteoglycan‐induced arthritis (PGIA), on dendritic cell (DC) maturation and antigen‐specific T cell proliferation. Methods We monitored DC maturation (MHCII and CD86 expression) by flow cytometry upon coculture of DCs with SF cells or spleen myeloid cells from mice with PGIA. The effects of these myeloid cells on T cell proliferation were studied using T cells purified from PG‐specific T cell receptor (TCR)–transgenic (Tg) mice. Phenotype analysis of myeloid cells was performed by immunostaining, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and biochemical assays. Results Inflammatory SF cells significantly suppressed the maturation of DCs upon coculture. PG‐TCR–Tg mouse T cells cultured with antigen‐loaded DCs showed dramatic decreases in proliferation in the presence of SF cells. Spleen myeloid cells from arthritic mice did not have suppressive effects. SF cells were unable to suppress CD3/CD28‐stimulated proliferation of the same T cells, suggesting a DC‐dependent mechanism. SF cells exhibited all of the characteristics of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and exerted suppression primarily through the production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species by granulocyte‐like cells. Conclusion SF in the joints of mice with PGIA contains a population of granulocytic MDSCs that potently suppress DC maturation and T cell proliferation. These MDSCs have the potential to limit the expansion of autoreactive T cells, thus breaking the vicious cycle of autoimmunity and inflammation.

We have found a B2 repeat insertion in the gene encoding protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 6 (PTPN6) in a mouse that developed a skin disorder with clinical and histopathological features resembling those seen in human neutrophilic dermatoses. Neutrophilic dermatoses are a group of complex heterogeneous autoinflammatory diseases that all demonstrate excessive neutrophil infiltration of the skin. Therefore, we tested the cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of PTPN6 from patients with Sweet's syndrome (SW) and pyoderma gangrenosum and found numerous novel splice variants in different combinations. Isoforms resulting from deletions of exons 2, 5, 11, and 15 and retention of intron 1 or 5 were the most common in a patients with a familial case of SW, who had a neonatal onset of an inflammatory disorder with skin lesions and a biopsy specimen consistent with SW. These isoforms were associated with a heterozygous E441G mutation and a heterozygous 1.7-kbp deletion in the promoter region of the PTPN6 gene. Although full-length PTPN6 was detected in all other patients with either pyoderma gangrenosum or SW, it was always associated with splice variants: a partial deletion of exon 4 with the complete deletion of exon 5, alterations that were not detected in healthy controls. The defect in transcriptional regulation of the hematopoietic PTPN6 appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of certain subsets of the heterogeneous group of neutrophilic dermatoses.

Gain-of-function mutations of classic transient receptor potential channel 6 (TRPC6) were identified in familial FSGS, and increased expression of wild-type TRPC6 in glomeruli is observed in several human acquired proteinuric diseases. Synaptopodin, an actin binding protein that is important in maintaining podocyte function, is downregulated in various glomerular diseases. Here, we investigated whether synaptopodin maintains podocyte function by regulating podocyte surface expression and activity of TRPC6. We show indirect interaction and nonrandom association of synaptopodin and TRPC6 in podocytes. Knockdown of synaptopodin in cultured mouse podocytes increased the expression of TRPC6 at the plasma membrane, whereas overexpression of synaptopodin decreased it. Mechanistically, synaptopodin-dependent TRPC6 surface expression required functional actin and microtubule cytoskeletons. Overexpression of wild-type or FSGS-inducing mutant TRPC6 in synaptopodin-depleted podocytes enhanced TRPC6-mediated calcium influx and induced apoptosis. In vivo, knockdown of synaptopodin also caused increased podocyte surface expression of TRPC6. Administration of cyclosporin A, which stabilizes synaptopodin, reduced LPS-induced proteinuria significantly in wild-type mice but to a lesser extent in TRPC6 knockout mice. Furthermore, administration of cyclosporin A reversed the LPS-induced increase in podocyte surface expression of TRPC6 in wild-type mice. Our findings suggest that alteration in synaptopodin levels under disease conditions may modify intracellular TRPC6 channel localization and activity, which further contribute to podocyte dysfunction. Reducing TRPC6 surface levels may be a new approach to restoring podocyte function.

BackgroundMyeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells capable of suppressing T-cell responses. We previously reported the presence of MDSCs with a granulocytic phenotype in the synovial fluid (SF) of mice with proteoglycan (PG)-induced arthritis (PGIA), a T cell-dependent autoimmune model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the limited amount of SF-MDSCs precluded investigations into their therapeutic potential. The goals of this study were to develop an in vitro method for generating MDSCs similar to those found in SF and to reveal the therapeutic effect of such cells in PGIA.MethodsMurine bone marrow (BM) cells were cultured for 3 days in the presence of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). The phenotype of cultured cells was analyzed using flow cytometry, microscopy, and biochemical methods. The suppressor activity of BM-MDSCs was tested upon co-culture with activated T cells. To investigate the therapeutic potential of BM-MDSCs, the cells were injected into SCID mice at the early stage of adoptively transferred PGIA, and their effects on the clinical course of arthritis and PG-specific immune responses were determined.ResultsBM cells cultured in the presence of GM-CSF, IL-6, and G-CSF became enriched in MDSC-like cells that showed greater phenotypic heterogeneity than MDSCs present in SF. BM-MDSCs profoundly inhibited both antigen-specific and polyclonal T-cell proliferation primarily via production of nitric oxide. Injection of BM-MDSCs into mice with PGIA ameliorated arthritis and reduced PG-specific T-cell responses and serum antibody levels.ConclusionsOur in vitro enrichment strategy provides a SF-like, but controlled microenvironment for converting BM myeloid precursors into MDSCs that potently suppress both T-cell responses and the progression of arthritis in a mouse model of RA. Our results also suggest that enrichment of BM in MDSCs could improve the therapeutic efficacy of BM transplantation in RA.

TSG-6 (TNF-α-stimulated gene/protein 6), a hyaluronan (HA)-binding protein, has been implicated in the negative regulation of inflammatory tissue destruction. However, little is known about the tissue/cell-specific expression of TSG-6 in inflammatory processes, due to the lack of appropriate reagents for the detection of this protein in vivo. Here, we report on the development of a highly sensitive detection system and its use in cartilage proteoglycan (aggrecan)-induced arthritis, an autoimmune murine model of rheumatoid arthritis. We found significant correlation between serum concentrations of TSG-6 and arthritis severity throughout the disease process, making TSG-6 a better biomarker of inflammation than any of the other arthritis-related cytokines measured in this study. TSG-6 was present in arthritic joint tissue extracts together with the heavy chains of inter-α-inhibitor (IαI). Whereas TSG-6 was broadly detectable in arthritic synovial tissue, the highest level of TSG-6 was co-localized with tryptases in the heparin-containing secretory granules of mast cells. In vitro, TSG-6 formed complexes with the tryptases murine mast cell protease-6 and -7 via either heparin or HA. In vivo TSG-6-tryptase association could also be detected in arthritic joint extracts by co-immunoprecipitation. TSG-6 has been reported to suppress inflammatory tissue destruction by enhancing the serine protease-inhibitory activity of IαI against plasmin. TSG-6 achieves this by transferring heavy chains from IαI to HA, thus liberating the active bikunin subunit of IαI. Because bikunin is also present in mast cell granules, we propose that TSG-6 can promote inhibition of tryptase activity via a mechanism similar to inhibition of plasmin.

A variety of environmental factors contribute to progressive development of osteoarthritis (OA). Environmental factors that upset circadian rhythms have been linked to various diseases. Our recent work establishes chronic environmental circadian disruption - analogous to rotating shiftwork-associated disruption of circadian rhythms in humans - as a novel risk factor for the development of OA. Evidence suggests shift workers are prone to obesity and also show altered eating habits (i.e., increased preference for high-fat containing food). In the present study, we investigated the impact of chronic circadian rhythm disruption in combination with a high-fat diet (HFD) on progression of OA in a mouse model. Our study demonstrates that when mice with chronically circadian rhythms were fed a HFD, there was a significant proteoglycan (PG) loss and fibrillation in knee joint as well as increased activation of the expression of the catabolic mediators involved in cartilage homeostasis. Our results, for the first time, provide the evidence that environmental disruption of circadian rhythms plus HFD potentiate OA-like pathological changes in the mouse joints. Thus, our findings may open new perspectives on the interactions of chronic circadian rhythms disruption with diet in the development of OA and may have potential clinical implications.

IntroductionThe major histocompatibility complex (H-2d) and non-major histocompatibility complex genetic backgrounds make the BALB/c strain highly susceptible to inflammatory arthritis and spondylitis. Although different BALB/c colonies develop proteoglycan-induced arthritis and proteoglycan-induced spondylitis in response to immunization with human cartilage proteoglycan, they show significant differences in disease penetrance despite being maintained by the same vendor at either the same or a different location.MethodsBALB/c female mice (24 to 26 weeks old after 4 weeks of acclimatization) were immunized with a suboptimal dose of cartilage proteoglycan to explore even minute differences among 11 subcolonies purchased from five different vendors. In vitro-measured T-cell responses, and serum cytokines and (auto)antibodies were correlated with arthritis (and spondylitis) phenotypic scores. cDNA microarrays were also performed using spleen cells of naïve and immunized BALB/cJ and BALB/cByJ mice (both colonies from The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA), which represent the two major BALB/c sublines.ResultsThe 11 BALB/c colonies could be separated into high (n = 3), average (n = 6), and low (n = 2) responder groups based upon their arthritis scores. While the clinical phenotypes showed significant differences, only a few immune parameters correlated with clinical or histopathological abnormalities, and seemingly none of them affected differences found in altered clinical phenotypes (onset time, severity or incidence of arthritis, or severity and progression of spondylitis). Affymetrix assay (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA) explored 77 differentially expressed genes (at a significant level, P < 0.05) between The Jackson Laboratory's BALB/cJ (original) and BALB/cByJ (transferred from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA). Fourteen of the 77 differentially expressed genes had unknown function; 24 of 77 genes showed over twofold differences, and only 8 genes were induced by immunization, some in both colonies.ConclusionsUsing different subcolonies of the BALB/c strain, we can detect significant differences in arthritis phenotypes, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and a large number of differentially expressed genes, even in non-immunized animals. A number of the known genes (and SNPs) are associated with immune responses and/or arthritis in this genetically arthritis-prone murine strain, and a number of genes of as-yet-unknown function may affect or modify clinical phenotypes of arthritis and/or spondylitis.

Objective The aim of this study was to identify epigenetic factors that are implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to explore the therapeutic potential of the targeted inhibition of these factors. Methods PCR arrays were utilized to investigate the expression profile of genes that encod key epigenetic regulator enzymes. Mononuclear cells from RA patients and mice were monitored for gene expression changes, in association with arthritis development in murine models of RA. Selected genes were further characterized by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot and flow cytometry methods. The targeted inhibition of the upregulated enzymes was studied in arthritic mice. Results A set of genes with arthritis-specific expression was identified by the PCR arrays. Aurora kinase A and B, both of which were highly expressed in arthritic mice and treatment naïve RA patients, were selected for detailed analysis. Elevated Aurora kinase expression was accompanied with an increased phosphorylation of histone H3, which promotes proliferation of T lymphocytes. Treatment with VX-680, a pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor, promoted B cell apoptosis, provided significant protection against the onset, and attenuated the inflammatory reactions in arthritic mice. Conclusions Arthritis development is accompanied the changes in the expression of a number of epigenome-modifying enzymes. Drug-induced downregulation of the Aurora kinases, among other targets, seems to be sufficient to treat experimental arthritis. Development of new therapeutics that target the Aurora kinases can potentially improve RA management.