Regulation of a cytokine pathway in inflammation and arthritis

© 2015 Dr. Melody Wei-Ning ChangRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an idiopathic autoimmune/inflammatory joint disease. The involvement of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the pathogenesis of RA is being indicated in clinical trials, but the underlying mechanism of action is still unclear. GM-CSF exhibits macrophage (MΦ)-polarising properties, where it can generate a more pro-inflammatory MΦ population. This thesis illustrates, for the first time, an important signalling cascade involving GM-CSF that is important for the development of murine inflammatory arthritis models