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Synovial cadherin-11

Cadherin-11 is a homophilic adhesion molecule that is expressed on fibroblast-like synoviocytes. To investigate a role for cadherin-11 in modulating synovial function, we have examined the synovial architecture and inflammatory responses in cadherin-11 mutant mice. We find these mice display a hypoplastic synovial lining with decreased cellular condensation and reduced extracellular matrix deposition. When challenged with arthritogenic serum in the KRN anti-GPI antibody-induced arthritis model in mice, cadherin-11-deficient animals display resistance to arthritis development. In animals that do develop detectable swelling and inflammation, there is a noted absence of cartilage damage, compared with wild-type animals with arthritis. Moreover, the architecture of the synovial response to inflammation is disorganized. In contrast to wild-type arthritic mice in which the synovial lining undergoes marked hyperplasia, the cadherin-11-deficient synovial reaction lacks a clearly detectable lining layer and shows a disorganized random inflammatory reaction. These results support the concept that fibroblast-like synoviocytes are direct participants in the highly orchestrated synovial reaction that occurs in inflammatory arthritis. Furthermore, these results reveal a role for synovial cadherin-11 in regulating synovial fibroblast function both in the healthy state and in the pathologic context of inflammatory arthritis.

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Lee, D., Kiener, H., Agarwal, S. et al. Synovial cadherin-11. Arthritis Res Ther 6 (Suppl 3), 96 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1186/ar1431

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/ar1431

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