Researchers discover how inflammatory cells migrate from the skin to joints

[Fred]

A team of researchers from the Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology at Uniklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), have now discovered which cells migrate from the skin of psoriasis patients to the joints and how they trigger inflammation there.

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Firstly: How inflammatory cells travel from the skin to the joints:
Psoriasis triggers the production of special precursor cells from the immune system in the inflamed skin. “These cells can migrate from the skin to the bloodstream and from there to the joints,” explains Dr. Simon Rauber, head of the working group at Department of Medicine 3. “It is interesting that the mere migration of immune cells into the joint is not sufficient to trigger inflammation there.”

Secondly: How inflammatory cells infiltrate the joint:
It is crucial to examine the processes that take place in the joint. Here, the migratory immune cells encounter connective tissue cells known as fibroblasts that are usually less than pleased to encounter these new arrivals. “The protective function of these connective tissue cells is usually considerably reduced in people who develop psoriatic arthritis,” says Prof. Dr. Andreas Ramming, team leader and deputy head of department at Department of Medicine 3. “As a result, the inflammatory cells that enter the joint cannot be brought into check, and go on to trigger an inflammatory reaction in the joint.” The results provide an explanation for why some psoriasis patients go on to develop joint disease as well.

Early detection and prevention before the disease affects the joints:
As the migratory immune cells can already be detected in the blood before triggering inflammation in the joints, this could act as an early warning signal in future, allowing patients at risk to be identified in time. In future, treatment strategies could be aimed specifically at intercepting these inflammatory cells and preventing them from triggering inflammation in the joints.

Source: fau.eu

*Funding: German Research Foundation

[Turnedlight]

You what?? I had no idea..

[Caroline]

You what?? I had no idea..

I am very critical to this explanation,

It is way more logical that the mechanism is different, that in fact the inflammatory substances are spread by the immune system itself.
As we know there is a small cohort of Psoriatic Arthritis patients who don’t or only marginally have Psoriasis, me for instance. This could not be explained by this suggestion.
In the abstract it is also not clear on how these cells are spread.
If you first see these cells in the skin, and later in the joints, it does suggest something like that, but it is no proof as they also can come from another source, that has not been revealed yet… something is triggering the immune system to produces these cells.

[mataribot]

My PSA has been at its worst when I had very little psoriasis. The joints that have the most inflammation have very little psoriasis in that location. Not sure about this research.

[Caroline]

My PSA has been at its worst when I had very little psoriasis. The joints that have the most inflammation have very little psoriasis in that location. Not sure about this research.

that makes is very odd that it would migrate from the skin.

I don’t believe a word of it.
It is way more logical that both come from the immunesystem itself.
I think they take the wrong conclusion from the things they found.