New discovery about cellular root of inflammation 'could aid arthritis treatment'

Scientists have made a new discovery about the key cellular processes that cause inflammation in the body. New research from the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute at Trinity College Dublin has been published in the leading scientific journal Cell, and could potentially open the door for new treatments for inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoidarthritis. How cells can cause inflammation To make this breakthrough, the team examined the function of macrophage cells, which play a key role in triggering the body's inflammation response to infection, before later putting the brakes on that initial response and repairing tissues that are damaged as a result. It was found that this initial macrophage activity can often cause important energy-producing cells called mitochondria to divert their focus away from energy creation to instead produce toxic compounds that amplify inflammation, leading to an excessive and damaging bodily reaction to infection or injury. This is the key process involved in inflammatory diseases, which are characterised by out-of-control immune responses causing damage to healthy tissue. How this could lead to new treatments Based on this discovery, the scientists now hope to find ways of suppressing macrophage activity to keep it at an appropriate level, potentially making it possible to reduce the tissue damage caused when the body's inflammation alert status is set too high. In addition to arthritis, this could aid the treatment of inflamma...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news