| Theme |
Bone disorders in rheumatic diseases |
| Title |
Inflammation of synovium and differentiation potential |
| Author |
Hiroaki Seto |
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo |
| Author |
Sakae Tanaka |
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo |
| Author |
Hisashi Kurosawa |
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Juntendo University |
| Author |
Kozo Nakamura |
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo |
| [ Summary ] |
Synovial tissues play important roles in smooth movement of diarthrodial joints, and they are mainly involved in the inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. It has been shown that proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as well as osteoclast differentiation factor, RANKL, are produced by synovial cells in such pathological conditions, and are implicated in the bone and joint destruction. Recent studies have also revealed that synovial tissues include multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into osteocytes, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and myotubes. These results suggest that not only are synovial cells a good therapeutic target of inflammatory joint diseases, but also can be utilized for tissue engineering of bone and cartilage. |