REVIEW - Psoriatic arthritis: from pathogenesis to therapy

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Arthritis Research & Therapy 2009, 11:214doi:10.1186/ar2580

Published: 12 Feb 2009

Psoriatic arthritis: from pathogenesis to therapy

Oliver FitzGerald1 and Winchester2

1Department of Rheumatology, St 's University Hospital, Elm

Park, Dublin, 4, Ireland

2Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Columbia

University, New York, NY 10032, USA

Abstract

Psoriatic arthritis is a multigenic autoimmune disease that involves

synovial tissue, entheseal sites and skin, and that may result in

significant joint damage. Although there are no diagnostic tests for

psoriatic arthritis, research has identified consistent features that

help to distinguish the condition from other common rheumatic

diseases. Comparison of HLA-B and HLA-C regions in psoriatic arthritis

with those in psoriasis without joint involvement demonstrates

significant differences, such that psoriatic arthritis cannot be

viewed simply as a subset of genetically homogeneous psoriasis. T-cell

receptor phenotypic studies have failed to identify antigen-driven

clones, and an alternative hypothesis for CD8 stimulation involving

innate immune signals is proposed. Finally, imaging studies have

highlighted entheseal involvement in psoriatic arthritis, and it is

possible that entheseal-derived antigens may trigger an immune

response that is critically involved in disease pathogenesis.

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Read the full article here:

http://arthritis-research.com/content/11/1/214

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