Rheumatoid factor amplifies the macrophage secretion of TNF induced by ACPA-citrullinated fibrinogen immune complexes

Based on their tight specificity for the disease, their association to its most severe forms and their production in the inflamed synovial tissue where citrullinated fibrin, their main antigenic target, is also abundant, the autoantibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA) probably play a central role in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To substantiate this hypothesis the authors developed an original and totally human in vitro model …