What is it about?
Proteins in the joint serve as lubricants for normal functions. For a long time, they were believed to be coming from the circulating blood. We found however, that the lining cells of the joint made these proteins and that a change of some of them may contribute to the diseases such as arthritis.
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Why is it important?
The medical field has been looking for a unique and sensitive "biomarker" for arthritis from the circulating blood without success. Our work suggest that the marker has to be detected in the joint fluid, and that a sensitive way needs to be developed in the near future.
Perspectives
We have established a basic mechanism in the making of plasma proteins in the synovial fluid, i.e., most if not all of them are made as a complex covalently bound to alpha2-macroglobulin, which is a plasma protein itself and has a large molecular weight. The complex has been found more than 30 years ago in vitro, but is commonly exist in vivo. It will redirect our attention in the processing and targeting of plasma proteins in their journey to peripheral tissues and organs.
Dr Ke-Wei Zhao
VA Med Ctr
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Fibroblastic Synoviocytes Secrete Plasma Proteins Via α2-Macroglobulins Serving as Intracellular and Extracellular Chaperones, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, September 2015, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/jcb.25201.
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