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. 1995 Aug;101(2):207–212. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1995.tb08340.x

Beneficial effects of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blockade in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

R N Maini 1, M J Elliott 1, F M Brennan 1, M Feldmann 1
PMCID: PMC1553280  PMID: 7648705

Abstract

The biological properties of TNF-alpha make it a candidate therapeutic target in RA. Our studies have demonstrated that TNF-alpha and its receptors are up-regulated and co-expressed in the synovium and cartilage-pannus junction of RA joints. Neutralizing TNF-alpha antibodies reduce the production of the many pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), produced by mononuclear cells from RA in culture. When injected into DBA/1 mice with collagen-induced arthritis and TNF-alpha transgenic mice with arthritis, anti-TNF MoAbs decrease inflammatory damage of joints. Clinical trials employing cA2, a chimaeric anti-TNF-alpha MoAb, in open-label and randomized placebo-controlled studies have demonstrated a dose-dependent efficacy with impressive improvement in disease activity and acute-phase responses lasting several weeks. We conclude that TNF-alpha is a critical mediator of inflammation in RA, and is an important therapeutic target in this disease.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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