Rheumatoid arthritis usually begins in one joint but spreads to other joints as the disease progresses. Elena Neumann and her colleagues show that rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) may be key mediators of this process. They show, using a SCID mouse model, that human RASFs can migrate long distances through the bloodstream from diseased cartilage to unaffected cartilage, where they can mount a new attack.
- Stephanie Lefèvre
- Anette Knedla
- Elena Neumann