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Possible cause of rheumatoid arthritis
Complex carbohydrates in the body may play a role in causing rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers. In this autoimmune disease, the body's immune system attacks connective tissue and cartilage in the joints. While the cause and the molecules that the immune system attacks aren't known, those molecules and their receptors could provide targets for drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. Author is focusing on glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which are a major component of joint cartilage, synovial fluid, and soft connective tissue. Mice injected with GAG developed systemic symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, including inflammation of the joints, tendon sheaths, and skin. As demonstrated by a new fluorescent staining technique author developed, many cells infiltrating these tissues bind GAG. Author still doesn't know exactly what role the GAGs are playing. "We're trying to understand the molecular and cellular mechanism behind disease development," she tells C&EN. "We're currently studying how GAGs interact with other soluble proteins or cell surface molecules, which will help us figure out how GAGs activate different cell populations in the immune system
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