TY - JOUR AU - Urushima, Hayato AU - Fujimoto, Minoru AU - Mishima, Takashi AU - Ohkawara, Tomoharu AU - Honda, Hiromi AU - Lee, Hyun AU - Kawahata, Hirohisa AU - Serada, Satoshi AU - Naka, Tetsuji PY - 2017 DA - 2017/06/14 TI - Leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein promotes Th17 differentiation and collagen-induced arthritis in mice through enhancement of TGF-β-Smad2 signaling in naïve helper T cells JO - Arthritis Research & Therapy SP - 137 VL - 19 IS - 1 AB - Leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein (LRG) has been identified as a serum protein elevated in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although the function of LRG is ill-defined, LRG binds with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and enhances Smad2 phosphorylation. Considering that the imbalance between T helper 17 (Th17) cells and regulatory T cells (Treg) plays important roles in the pathogenesis of RA, LRG may affect arthritic pathology by enhancing the TGF-β-Smad2 pathway that is pivotal for both Treg and Th17 differentiation. The purpose of this study was to explore the contribution of LRG to the pathogenesis of arthritis, with a focus on the role of LRG in T cell differentiation. SN - 1478-6362 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-017-1349-2 DO - 10.1186/s13075-017-1349-2 ID - Urushima2017 ER -