The molecular mechanisms underlying the putative role of osteopontin in the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis are unclear. A study in a murine model of arthritis now demonstrates that a specific antibody directed against the exposed osteopontin epitope SLAYGLR is capable of preventing inflammatory cell infiltration in arthritic joints.
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Room 241, 4 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. egravall@bidmc.harvard.edu;