targeting b cells for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis针对b细胞治疗类风湿性关节炎.pdfVIP

Available online /content/5/S4/S7 Review Targeting B cells for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis Thomas J Oligino and Stacie A Dalrymple Roche Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, California, USA Correspondence: Thomas Oligino (e-mail: tom.oligino@) Received: 30 Jul 2003 Revisions requested: 4 Aug 2003 Revisions received: 15 Aug 2003 Accepted: 19 Aug 2003 Published: 2 Oct 2003 Arthritis Res Ther 2003, 5(Suppl 4):S7-S11 (DOI 10.1186/ar1006) © 2003 BioMed Central Ltd (Print ISSN 1478-6354; Online ISSN 1478-6362) Abstract The role of B cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been debated for decades. However, recent clinical trial data indicating that depletion of B cells in RA patients is of therapeutic benefit has validated the importance of this cell type in the pathogenesis of the disease. Elucidation of the molecular basis of B cell development and activation has allowed the identification of a number of possible therapeutic targets that are appealing for drug development. This review discusses briefly a number of these molecules and the rationale for targeting them for the treatment of RA. Keywords: autoimmunity, arthritis, B cells Introduction techniques, the main thrust of this article is to discuss Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex disease of some of the more prominent targets that allow modulation unknown etiology. Decades of research into the pathogen- of the B cell response. esis of the disease have elucidated a number of the key pathways involved in the generation of the disease state. B cell depletion Fr