Immunoglobulins, antigens and complement can assemble to form immune complexes (IC). ICs can be detrimental as they propagate inflammation in autoimmune diseases. Like ICs, submicron extracellular vesicles termed microparticles (MP) are present in the synovial fluid from patients affected with autoimmune arthritis. We examined MPs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using high sensitivity flow cytometry and electron microscopy. We find that the MPs in RA synovial fluid are highly heterogeneous in size. The observed larger MPs were in fact MP-containing ICs (mpICs) and account for the majority of the detectable ICs. These mpICs frequently express the integrin CD41, consistent with platelet origin. Despite expression of the Fc receptor FcγRIIa by platelet-derived MPs, we find that the mpICs form independently of this receptor. Rather, mpICs display autoantigens vimentin and fibrinogen, and recognition of these targets by anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies contributes to the production of mpICs. Functionally, platelet mpICs are highly pro-inflammatory, eliciting leukotriene production by neutrophils. Taken together, our data suggest a unique role for platelet MPs as autoantigen-expressing elements capable of perpetuating formation of inflammatory ICs.

Mast cells (MCs) are heterogeneous cells whose phenotype is modulated by signals received from the local microenvironment. Recent studies have identified the mesenchymal-derived cytokine IL-33 as a potent direct activator of MCs, as well as regulator of their effector phenotype, and have implicated this activity in the ability of mast cells to contribute to murine experimental arthritis. We explored the hypothesis that IL-33 enables participation of synovial MCs in murine K/BxN arthritis by promoting their activation by IgG immune complexes. Compared to wild-type (WT) control mice, transgenic animals lacking the IL-33 receptor ST2 exhibited impaired MC-dependent immune complex-induced vascular permeability (flare) and attenuated K/BxN arthritis. Whereas participation of MCs in this model is mediated by the activating IgG receptor FcγRIII, we pre-incubated bone marrow-derived MCs with IL-33 and found not only direct induction of cytokine release but also a marked increase in FcγRIII-driven production of critical arthritogenic mediators including IL-1β and CXCL2. This “priming” effect was associated with mRNA accumulation rather than altered expression of Fcγ receptors, could be mimicked by co-culture of WT but not ST2−/− MCs with synovial fibroblasts, and was blocked by antibodies against IL-33. In turn, WT but not ST2−/− MCs augmented fibroblast expression of IL-33, forming a positive feedback circuit. Together, these findings confirm a novel role for IL-33 as an amplifier of IgG immune complex-mediated inflammation and identify a potential MC-fibroblast amplification loop dependent on IL-33 and ST2.

Objective

Among the seven subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), oligoarticular JIA (oJIA) and psoriatic JIA (psJIA) display a predilection for onset in early childhood. We examined whether meaningful differences in clinical phenotype justify the distinction between these conditions.

Methods

We performed a chart review to identify children with psoriatic and non-psoriatic oligoarticular-onset JIA. Clinical and demographic features of the two groups of children were compared.

Results

303 met criteria for oJIA and 87 met criteria for oligoarticular-onset psJIA. Both groups had a peak age of onset at 2 – 3 years, though psJIA had appreciable incidence into adolescence. Onset before 5 years of age was observed in 215 (71%) and 38 (44%) children respectively (p < 0.001). Within this age category, children with psJIA demonstrated similar gender ratio and anti-nuclear antibody status to those with oJIA but exhibited a distinctive clinical pattern, with a tendency to involve the wrists and small joints of the hands and feet. Conversely, among all children presenting with oligoarthritis in early childhood, those with wrist or small joint involvement were more likely to have nail pits, psoriasis, or a family history of psoriasis than those without (p < 0.05), supporting the association of this joint pattern with the psoriatic diathesis.

Conclusion

Even taking into account age of onset and number of joints, oJIA and psJIA remain clinically distinct, though important demographic overlap remains. These findings support separate diagnostic categories but justify further investigation into the similarities as well as differences among these children.

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with hypogalactosylation of immunoglobulin G (IgG). We examined whether a proxy measure for galactosylation of IgG N-glycans could predict response to therapy or was differentially affected by methotrexate (MTX) or TNF blockade.

Methods

Using a previously defined normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography approach, we ascertained the galactosylation status of whole serum N-glycans in two well-defined RA clinical cohorts: the Autoimmune Biomarkers Collaborative Network (n = 98) and Nested I (n = 64). The ratio of agalactosylated to monogalactosylated N-glycans in serum (sG0/G1) was determined before and during therapy with MTX or TNF inhibition and correlated with anticitrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) status and clinical response as assessed by 28-joint Disease Activity Score utilizing C-reactive peptide and European League Against Rheumatism response criteria.

Results

RA patients from both cohorts exhibited elevation of sG0/G1 at baseline. Improvement in clinical scores correlated with a reduction in sG0/G1 (Spearman's ρ = 0.31 to 0.37; P < 0.05 for each cohort). However, pretreatment sG0/G1 was not predictive of clinical response. Changes in sG0/G1 were similar in the MTX and TNF inhibitor groups. Corrected for disease activity, ACPA positivity correlated with higher sG0/G1.

Conclusions

Baseline serum N-glycan hypogalactosylation, an index previously correlated with hypogalactosylation of IgG N-glycans, did not distinguish patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were likely to experience a favorable clinical response to MTX or TNF blockade. Clinical improvement was associated with partial glycan normalization. ACPA-positive patients demonstrated enhanced N-glycan aberrancy compared with ACPA-negative patients.

OBJECTIVE

Mast cells are tissue-resident immune sentinels implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory joint disease. We hypothesized that complement fragments could be key activators of synovial mast cells in autoimmune arthritis.

METHODS

In vivo studies employed murine K/BxN arthritis, a distal symmetric polyarthritis mediated by IgG immune complexes. Expression of C5aR on synovial mast cells was determined by immunohistochemical and functional studies. C5aR−/− and control mast cells were engrafted into mast cell-deficient W/Wv mice to examine the requirement for this receptor in arthritis. C5aR-dependent activation of mast cells was investigated in C5aR−/− animals and in murine and human mast cell cultures.

RESULTS

Murine synovial mast cells express functional C5aR. Unlike their wild-type counterparts, C5aR−/− mast cells adoptively transferred into W/Wv mice were incompetent to restore arthritis, despite equivalent synovial engraftment. Activation of C5aR−/− mast cells by K/BxN serum in vivo remained intact, indicating that C5aR is dispensable for normal IgG-mediated triggering. Consistent with this result, cultured mast cells treated with C5a failed to modulate expression of Fc γ receptors (FcγR) or otherwise alter activation threshold. In human mast cells, C5a promoted production of the neutrophil chemotaxin interleukin 8, and recruitment of neutrophils at 24h after serum administration was impaired in C5aR−/− mice, suggesting that enhanced neutrophil chemoattractant production underlies the requirement for C5aR on mast cells in arthritis.

CONCLUSION

Stimulation via C5aR is required to unleash the pro-inflammatory activity of synovial mast cells in immune complex arthritis, albeit via a mechanism distinct from C5a-modulated FcγR expression.

Objective

Neutrophils represent a prominent component of inflammatory joint effusions and are required for synovial inflammation in mouse models, but mechanisms are poorly understood. We developed a system to test the importance of production of specific factors by neutrophils in a mouse model of arthritis.

Methods

Neutrophil-deficient Gfi-1−/− mice were sub-lethally irradiated, then engrafted with donor bone-marrow cells (BMC), which resulted in production of mature neutrophils within two weeks. By reconstituting with BMC from mice lacking selected pro-inflammatory factors, mice specifically lacking these factors on neutrophils were generated. Arthritis was initiated by transfer of K/BxN serum to identify the role of defined neutrophil factors on arthritis incidence and severity.

Results

Neutrophils lacking the signaling chain of stimulatory Fc receptors (FcRγ −/−) were unable to elicit arthritis, but neutrophils lacking Fcγ RIII still did so. Neutrophils lacking the chemotactic or adhesion receptors C5aR or CD11a/LFA-1 also failed to initiate arthritis but could enter joints in which inflammation had been initiated by wild-type neutrophils. Neutrophils unable to produce interleukin-1 α and β (IL-1αβ −/−) or leukotrienes (5-LO−/−) produced arthritis of intermediate severity. Inability of neutrophils to make tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or to express receptors for TNF or IL-1, had no effect on arthritis.

Conclusion

A novel transfer system was developed to identify neutrophil production of FcRγ , C5aR, and CD11a/LFA-1 as critical components of autoantibody-mediated arthritis. Neutrophil production of IL-1 and leukotriene B4 likely contributes to inflammation but is not essential. Molecular requirements for neutrophil influx into joints become more permissive after inflammation is initiated.

In addition to their pivotal role in thrombosis and wound repair, platelets participate in inflammatory responses. We investigated the role of platelets in the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis. We identified platelet microparticles—submicrometer vesicles elaborated by activated platelets—in joint fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis, but not in joint fluid from patients with osteoarthritis. Platelet microparticles were proinflammatory, eliciting cytokine responses from synovial fibroblasts via interleukin-1. Consistent with these findings, depletion of platelets attenuated murine inflammatory arthritis. Using both pharmacologic and genetic approaches, we identified the collagen receptor glycoprotein VI as a key trigger for platelet microparticle generation in arthritis pathophysiology. Thus, these findings demonstrate a previously unappreciated role for platelets and their activation-induced microparticles in inflammatory joint diseases.

Although mast cells (MCs) often are abundant in the synovial tissues of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), MC’s contribution to joint inflammation and cartilage loss remains poorly understood. MC-restricted tryptase•heparin complexes have pro-inflammatory activity, and significant amounts of hTryptase-β are present in RA synovial fluid. Mouse MC protease-6 (mMCP-6) is the ortholog of hTryptase-β, and this serine protease is abundant in the synovium of arthritic mice. We now report that C57BL/6 (B6) mice lacking their tryptase•heparin complexes have attenuated arthritic responses, with mMCP-6 as the dominant tryptase responsible for augmenting neutrophil infiltration in the K/B×N mouse serum-transfer arthritis model. While inflammation in this experimental arthritis model was not dependent on protease activated receptor-2, it was dependent on the chemokine receptor CXCR2. In support of the latter data, exposure of synovial fibroblasts to hTryptase-β•heparin or mMCP-6•heparin complexes resulted in expression of the neutrophil chemotactic factors CXCL1/KC, CXCL5/LIX, and CXCL8/IL-8. Our proteomics, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry data also revealed substantial loss of cartilage-derived aggrecan proteoglycans in the arthritic joints of wild-type B6 mice but not mMCP-6-null B6 mice. These observations demonstrate the functional contribution of MC-restricted tryptase•heparin complexes in the K/B×N mouse arthritis model and connect our mouse findings with RA pathophysiology.

Neutrophils serve as a vanguard of the acute innate immune response to invading pathogens. Neutrophils are also abundant at sites of autoimmune inflammation, such as the rheumatoid joint, although their pathophysiologic role is incompletely defined and relevant effector functions remain obscure. Using genetic and pharmacologic approaches in the K/BxN serum transfer model of arthritis, we find that autoantibody-driven erosive synovitis is critically reliant on the generation of leukotrienes, and more specifically on leukotriene B4 (LTB4), for disease induction as well as perpetuation. Pursuing the cellular source for this mediator, we find via reconstitution experiments that mast cells are a dispensable source of leukotrienes, whereas arthritis susceptibility can be restored to leukotriene-deficient mice by intravenous administration of wild-type neutrophils. These experiments demonstrate a nonredundant role for LTB4 in inflammatory arthritis and define a neutrophil mediator involved in orchestrating the synovial eruption.

The presentation of juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) has long been recognized to be clinically heterogeneous. As the definition of JPsA expanded to accommodate atypical manifestations of psoriasis in young children, studies began to reflect an increasingly clear biphasic distribution of age of onset, with peaks in the first few years of life and again in early adolescence. These two subpopulations differ in gender ratio, pattern of joint involvement, laboratory findings and potentially response to therapy. Intriguingly, a similar distribution of age of onset has been observed in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), and correlates with patterns of HLA association. While a secure classification of subpopulations within JPsA awaits improved pathophysiologic understanding, future research must consider the possibility that different disease mechanisms may be operative in distinct subsets of patients with this disorder.

Mast cells are present in limited numbers in normal human synovium, but in rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory joint diseases this population can expand to constitute 5% or more of all synovial cells. Recent investigations in a murine model have demonstrated that mast cells can have a critical role in the generation of inflammation within the joint. This finding highlights the results of more than 20 years of research indicating that mast cells are frequent participants in non-allergic immune responses as well as in allergy. Equipped with a diversity of surface receptors and effector capabilities, mast cells are sentinels of the immune system, detecting and delivering a first response to invading bacteria and other insults. Accumulating within inflamed tissues, mast cells produce cytokines and other mediators that may contribute vitally to ongoing inflammation. Here we review some of the non-allergic functions of mast cells and focus on the potential role of these cells in murine and human inflammatory arthritis.