STA-21, a Promising STAT-3 Inhibitor-That Reciprocally Regulates Thl7 and Treg Cells, Inhibits Osteoclastogenesis in Mice and Humans and Alleviates Autoimmune Inflammation in an Experimental Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis

摘要

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multisystem autoimmune disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by a hyperplastic synovial membrane, also called pannus, capable of destroying adjacent articular cartilage and bone (1,2). Among the various pathologic events occurring in the affected joints, bone destruction is of utmost importance clinically because it is related to functional impairment and the progression of joint damage among patients with RA whose disease is in prolonged remission (3). Osteoclasts, which are specialized bone-resorbing cells regulated by RANKL and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), are mainly implicated in the development of bony erosion in RA(4,5).