Follistatin-like protein 1 promotes arthritis by up-regulating IFN-gamma.

ABSTRACT: Follistatin-like protein-1 (FSTL-1) is a poorly characterized protein that is up-regulated in the early stage of collagen-induced arthritis and that exacerbates arthritis when delivered by gene transfer. The current study was designed to determine the mechanism by which FSTL-1 promotes arthritis. FSTL-1 was injected into mouse paws, resulting in severe paw swelling associated with up-regulation of IFN-gamma transcript and the IFN-gamma-induced chemokine, CXCL10. Mice depleted of T cells were protected. A central role for IFN-gamma was confirmed by the finding that mice deficient in IFN-gamma failed to exhibit paw swelling in response to injection of FSTL-1. Furthermore, IFN-gamma secretion from mouse spleen cells exposed to a weak TCR signal was increased 5-fold in the presence of FSTL-1.

SUBMITTER: Clutter SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3150499 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature