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SPONDYLOARTHRITIS

Pathogenic role for MIF likely in SpA

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 18, page 3 (2022)Cite this article

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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has previously been linked to inflammation and new bone formation in ankylosing spondylitis, a prototypic form of spondyloarthritis (SpA). Now, a new study has revealed how MIF exerts its pathogenic role in experimental SpA, providing a hypothesis for how MIF might function in patients with SpA.

The cells responsible for producing MIF in SKG mice treated with curdlan (which triggers an accelerated form of disease) were neutrophils, which were present in increased numbers at sites of inflammation. Similarly, neutrophils from patients with SpA produced more MIF than neutrophils from healthy individuals, suggesting that neutrophils could be a main source of MIF in SpA.

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References

Original article

  • Nakamura, A. et al. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor drives pathology in a mouse model of spondyloarthritis and is associated with human disease. Sci. Transl Med. 13, eabg1210 (2021)

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Related article

  • Kang, I. & Bucala, R. The immunobiology of MIF: function, genetics and prospects for precision medicine. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 15, 427–437 (2019)

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  1. Nature Reviews Rheumatology http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

    Joanna Clarke

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  1. Joanna Clarke
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Correspondence to Joanna Clarke.

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Clarke, J. Pathogenic role for MIF likely in SpA. Nat Rev Rheumatol 18, 3 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00728-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-021-00728-6

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