Mast cell depletion in the preclinical phase of collagen-induced arthritis reduces clinical outcome by lowering the inflammatory cytokine profile

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease, which is characterized by inflammation of synovial joints leading to the destruction of cartilage and bone. Infiltrating mast cells can be found within the inflamed synovial tissue, however their role in disease pathogenesis is unclear. Therefore we have studied the role of mast cells during different phases of experimental arthritis. We induced collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), the most frequently used animal model of arthritis, in an inducible mast cell knock-out mouse and determined the effect of mast cell depletion on the de... Mehr ...