CCL17 blockade as a therapy for osteoarthritis pain and disease

Abstract

Background: Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of inflammatory diseases and in osteoarthritis (OA). We identified previously a new GM-CSF→Jmjd3→interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4)→chemokine (c-c motif) ligand 17 (CCL17) pathway, which is important for the development of inflammatory arthritis pain and disease. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) can also be linked with this pathway. Here we investigated the involvement of the pathway in OA pain and disease development using the GM-CSF-dependent collagenase-induced OA (CiOA) model. Methods: CiOA was induced in C57BL/6 wild-type (WT), Irf4 -/- , Ccl17 E/E , Ccr4 -/- , ..